


liar, liar

by zaroha



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Alternative Universe - Kingdom, M/M, Slow To Update, faerie court
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-22 10:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 42,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14306817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zaroha/pseuds/zaroha
Summary: Having entered the Faerie world as a child, Jinwoo has kept his human side well hidden. Until one day at the High Court, Jinwoo becomes intertwined with palace mischief and catches the eye of the future king.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY i'm only posting the prologue now, just so I have reason to continue the story because I know that if I leave this in my documents, I would never post it.

 

Jinwoo didn’t mean to let go of his mother’s hand. It just happened. He just wanted to feed the bird. One second he was playing by the pond, feeding the ducks with the stale piece of bread a boy nearby had given him and the next, he fell headfirst into the murky waters, inhaling more water than air. 

 

When he came up for air, he wasn’t in the park anymore. He wasn’t sure where he was. All he saw was a pair of hands, pulling him out of the water. The water wasn’t dirty anymore, it was clear and clean, almost invisible. 

 

“I want to go home,” Jinwoo cried to the man who pulled him out. His skin was tinged with blue, glittering in the sun. His hair a bright red, a colour Jinwoo liked. The most noticeable thing was his pointed ears. A costume, Jinwoo thought, it must be. There was a fair nearby the park. Maybe this man was from there.

 

“This can’t be happening,” the man said. He held the shivering Jinwoo, who continued to sob and cough onto his shoulder. “I don’t know what to do,”

 

Jinwoo realised he wasn’t talking to him. A woman stood nearby, holding a basket. Her ears pointed, almost hidden behind her thick orange hair. Two kids were by her side. 

 

The women looked away, in the distance, as if she was watching out for something. 

 

“We can’t leave him,” he said. “You know what they do to humans,”

 

Jinwoo, believing he might be left behind, clung to the man tightly. 

 

“We’ll take to him Haseul,” he said. “She’s dealt with human children before, she can help,”

 

“Okay,” the women said, with a sense of urgency. She turned to one of her children. 

 

“Minhyuk,” she said. “We’re going to give your jacket to his boy, okay?”

 

The boy, Minhyuk, a small, skinny kid with golden brown hair, and lightly, not sharp, pointed ears, nodded, listening to his mother’s orders. 

 

The man stripped Jinwoo of his jacket. Minhyuk walked up to him, smiling. 

 

“My jacket should hide your smell,” Minhyuk said. Jinwoo sniffled, not understanding what he’d meant. He smelt like the water he had escaped from. It was clean, nothing bad about it.

 

“Quick,” the woman said. “Someone’s bound to realise a human boy is here,”

They lead him to a carriage where a black horse was nibbling on the grass of the lawn. It was huge, bigger than any horse Jinwoo had seen before. He wanted to pet it, but the man led them into to the carriage quickly, calling for the boys, Minhyuk and other, Jinwoo learnt, called Sanha to hurry. They had been slowed down by playing with these butterflies. He sat between the two boys, who continued to speak as if Jinwoo wasn’t some random boy their father plucked out a pond. They smiled and laughed as their parents, up front, whispered among themselves. 

Years later, when Jinwoo recalled the story, he never knew if they were as scared of him as he was of them, but the fae can't lie. Shock and fear almost erased the whole day, except for a few select moments. But his life changed that day, whether it was for better or for worse, Jinwoo couldn’t tell.  


	2. Stilled.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jinwoo takes a trip to the Courts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy~~~~
> 
> (also very unedited - will edit once the entire fic is done)

“And that’ll be fifteen gold pieces and seven silvers, ma’am,” Sanha said to the silver haired customer.

“Your family are doing very well recently, haven’t you,” the young girl passed the coins over to Sanha, making a deep effort not to be near Jinwoo, who was neatly packing the fruits and items into bags. Jinwoo could see from the corner of his eyes that she was scowling whenever Jinwoo’s hands touch something non-packaged. Jinwoo could already imagine her yelling at her kitchen staff to clean the items once over when she returns home. But when she turns to Sanha, she’s all smiles.

“Yes, ma’am,” Sanha gleamed, trying his best to ignore the women’s dark eyes at Jinwoo. “The harvest has been doing well this year,”

“It’s all the Prince Myungjun’s doing, ya know,” Minhyuk passes by with new fruits to restock the shelves. “He’s been quite strict on agriculture and the harvests this year have done well because of it.”

“He’s certainly been the talk of the town,” the girl said, smiling at the mention of the King’s youngest son. “And very handsome, he’s got everyone from the farthest cities throwing their hands for a chance at marriage”

“Really? But he’s so young, you’d think he’d already lived a couple millennia’s if he’s thinking of settling down so soon,” Sanha said. Jinwoo nudges him slightly. He has a habit of talking to customers for a bit too long and with the growing number of customers in the store, it wasn’t the time to start talking about the Royal family. And Jinwoo had learnt to move the conversation elsewhere when it came to the Fae’s lifeline, reminding him of his shorter one.

“Well don’t be surprise when the girls around here start perking up a bit,” the girl giggled, and then made her way out.

Sanha turned to Jinwoo, and sighed. “I’m sorry, she usually doesn’t come in on Sundays,”

“It’s fine, Sanha,” Jinwoo said, and then he returned to his place on the till. He pulled out the pot of homemade cream that he had learnt over the years to his exact needs. Usual faerie cream made him itch and he had learnt to mix in the right amount of crush nuts and berries which gave him the Sight, the ability to see the Fae as they truly are and not the masks they hide behind and to resist enchantment.

Although, he does everything he can to hide his humanness, they were always a few odd people who sneered at the idea of being served by a human. Especially, a free one, like Jinwoo, who wasn’t contracted to a Faerie family or under the illusion of compulsion. Free humans have the Fae on edge since they can easily lie, so if you were under a contract (therefore easily punishable if you lied) or under compulsion (unable to lie), the Fae were more relaxed. But it didn’t matter for Jinwoo.

He had come to the world unannounced and so young that he was lucky that Sanha and Minhyuk’s parents were the one to have found him. Had it been anyone else, he would’ve been taken straight to the court and assigned to a family, living a life of servitude until the day he died. Jinwoo shuddered at the thought. But his sudden arrival had shocked a couple of people but the novelty of something new faded quickly in the Fae world. These people have lived for hundreds and hundreds of years. A human boy was nothing new.

But that didn’t stop the comments. The sly digs about how lucky Jinwoo was to be raised in a loving Fae, one so many believed a human child wasn’t worthy of. A human without a trace of magic to be treated on the same level as a Fae. There might have been laws making discrimination illegal but that didn’t stop them from staring.

Jinwoo knew it was an honour and a privilege to be raised the way he was. He could’ve been killed that night if the wrong person walked by.

A couple of hours quickly went by and when it was time to close the shop, Minhyuk dropped by, dressed in cleaner, silkier clothes. Jinwoo knew where he was heading.

“Sanha, are you mad?” Minhyuk huffed. “Delivery to the Court is in ten minutes, and you’re still dressed like _that_?”

Jinwoo had realised that Sanha stayed in the store longer on the weekends, even helping Jinwoo clean up the compost garbage, which Sanha absolutely despised. As if he was withholding the time until he had to help his father deliver fresh fruit and vegetables to the Court. A few years back they became a main supplier for the Court, and their business boomed. Everyone wanted what the Court had.

“Please, I’ve told Dad a hundred time,” Sanha whined. “I don’t want to do the delivery drops anymore!”

“Come on! Sun is rising soon, and I want to at least sleep a couple of hours before sundown,” Minhyuk groaned. The Fae lived in different timings to humans. Jinwoo remembers waking up when the sun did, rushing to the tv to see his favourite cartoons and waiting until his mum wakes up to make him breakfast. The memory stops there, part because Jinwoo has forgotten the rest, part because it hurt him too much to remember. Now Jinwoo found himself yawning at the sight of sunrise and knocked out by the time it has fully risen.

“Is this because of Dongmin and Bin?” Jinwoo asked. “I thought they stopped teasing you ages ago?”

Lee Dongmin was the son of a Royal Doctor and Moon Bin, the son of the Head Royal Guard. Two powerful and privileged beings that found fun in bringing pain to others. Jinwoo had completed his compulsory education years before but his human status deemed him ineligible to apply for any higher education. He remembered what it was like taking the same lessons as the Fae and other magical creatures. Since never shared classes with anyone from the Courts, the age differences saved Jinwoo from ever having to encounter them in classes. Instead, Jinwoo befriended the Fae from lower classes, ones who weren’t as rude and were more than happy to talk to a human. Jinwoo became popular in their games of Mafia. But Dongmin and Bin’s powerful influence meant they could still terrorise poor Sanha who was almost three years younger.

“They’ve stopped and _only_ because I make sure I don’t end up in their line of sight,” Sanha mumbled. “They like to hang about and we almost always see them when we deliver,”

“If Dad’s okay, I don’t mind going in your place,” Jinwoo offered. It had taken a long time for Jinwoo to learn to call Minhyuk and Sanha’s parents mum and dad. He felt like he was betraying his own human parents, and when their mother passed away four years after he arrived, Jinwoo felt a sense of urgency to step up as the older brother and the familial terms slowly stuck. After their mother passed, the trio stuck together, kept their head down and did what they were told for the sake for their father. Any grievances the boys faced were sorted among themselves. Jinwoo felt happy that the boys could trust him. Even though it had taken a long time for him to find faith in them.

Sanha smiled. “Really? Thank you so much!”

Jinwoo shrugged. “How bad could it be?”

Their father agreed, unaware of Sanha’s treatment by the other boys, but only because they kept information that like to themselves.

The delivery goes smoothly. Their father drives the carriages up to the delivery gate where they meet guards who triple check their identity. Jinwoo can sense a heightened feeling of security when they realise a human boy was in their ranks. Jinwoo sticks to helping the kitchen staff move the boxes to and from the carriages. He’s bringing in the last of the boxes when he can feel someone watching him.

“Who let a free human in here?” a voice sneered, and Jinwoo turned around.

Dongmin stood there, a pale faced boy with pretty dark curls, and a disgustingly cruel smile on his face, like he was deciding whether it was worth his time to even look at Jinwoo.

“That’s Sanha’s _brother_ ,” Bin said. He stood next to Dongmin, a tall, muscled boy with a very impressive sword attached to his hip. “I guess the boy got too scared to even help his own pa out, _pathetic_ ,”

Boys with these behaviours didn’t bother him. Hell, Jinwoo had even faced worse bullies in the human world. Jinwoo gritted his teeth. He couldn’t make a scene here. He had to lose their attention before someone came and somehow blamed something on him.

“Look at you,” Dongmin asked in a sickly-sweet voice, his arm is basically draped over Bin’s. “Covered in dirt. Have you no respect for this Court?”

“Can’t blame him,” Bin laughed. “It is what humans are naturally made of,”

“Excuse me,” Jinwoo said, in the politest way he could possible managed. “I must attend to the delivery,”

“No, you won’t,” Dongmin stated, almost commanded. Jinwoo froze and Dongmin laughs.

“Did you not charm yourself before you came here?” Dongmin smiles. “Or whatever it is you humans do to resist our compulsion?”

Jinwoo can feel his anger rising. But to Dongmin and Bin, he’s frozen to the spot. How dare the two use their magic in this way. Jinwoo finally realises how scary it must be for Sanha, a fair folk, who couldn’t use anything to resist compulsion, despite decrees being put in place to make compulsion without consent illegal. It wouldn’t work on him. Jinwoo’s body is tingling, like constant pins and needles, and itches to do something but impossible to do under the thumb of Dongmin.

Jinwoo can’t breathe. He can’t. Darkness is crawling in his mind and suddenly, he lurches over the crates of oranges and bananas. Two human fruits that has suddenly become popular among the Fair Folk. He’s choking and he can’t do anything to stop it. He looks up to Dongmin’s face, wondering how far did he intend to take this? Was this what awaited Sanha if had chosen to come? Bin is watching over with mild curiosity, is he surprised because of Dongmin’s action or was he looking forward to seeing what happened next?

“Follow us,” Dongmin said.

Jinwoo followed the two down the dark halls, the staff cleaning ignored the human boy trailing after the two Fae boys. Was this a common sight? Jinwoo’s mind focuses on his family. Minhyuk would probably realise he was gone and went in search of him. Hopefully, it was sooner rather than later.

“Please, stop this,” Jinwoo gasped. Dongmin hadn’t claimed complete control just yet, the lotion Jinwoo had put on hours ago was fighting its last defences but how long could Jinwoo hold off against him?

“Why should I when we’re having so much fun?” Dongmin grinned. “Aren’t we, human?”

Jinwoo feels light-headed, his mind unwinding and his stomach feels lighter. He giggles, not of his own accord though.

“Yes, we are!” Jinwoo laughed, but cut himself off. He had some control left.

“Who said you could speak?” Bin stared, his eyes dark. “We're not done with you yet,”

“Yes, you are,” A new voice said, loud and clear. “Dongmin, Bin, that’s _enough_ ,”


	3. Your Highness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saviours and passages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some sort of plot is forming in my mind. it will all kick off in the next chapter.
> 
> as always, unedited because i have zero time to look back on anything i write with loads of deadlines coming up.

Jinwoo stared at the new incomer, and almost choked regardless of Dongmin's hold on him. Making his way towards them was Prince Myungjun, the youngest of the royal family- fifth born and the one the citizens hope to take the current king’s place when he resigned this summer. Despite being late in the day, Myungjun was dressed to perfection with no sight in changing for bed. Royal red clothing, and silky soft fabric. A silver crown that resembled thorns and roses sat upon his head, light brown curls that shimmered even in the evening light. His round face, smooth soft skin, with light freckles that adorned the bridge of his nose. Beautiful. Like the rest of them, but there was touch difference between the normal fae and fae that descended from the royal line. As if the magic the made them rulers over the land spent extra time on their looks. 

"May I ask why you've interrupted this poor delivery boy from doing his job?" Myungjun asked, ignoring Jinwoo completely even though he was the boy in question. 

Moon Bin grinned at Myungjun, and then threw his arm around the prince. Myungjun didn't even flinch at the gesture. They must be close friends, Jinwoo thought. "C'mon, Jun. It's just a little fun, we weren't planning on harming the boy," 

Jinwoo had a feeling that sentence should've ended with not just yet. He wriggled his hands, feelings slowly returned as Dongmin's control on his lessened. 

"I suggest you two return to your quarters," Myungjun said. "Bin, didn't your father mention to take better measure walking around during the evening?" 

Bin straighten at the mention of his father. "I suppose so," He turned to Dongmin. "Let's go," 

The two leave without any fuss, and Jinwoo slumps against the wall. Remembering where he was, and that these walls held years of history and art, and made with very expensive material, he jumps straight back. 

"I apologise for the behaviour of my court members," Myungjun now turned to him. Jinwoo was slightly taller than him but Myungjun's aura made Jinwoo shrink into himself. 

"No, it's my fault, your highness," Jinwoo spluttered. "I should've prepared myself before entering, I made myself the target," 

"I'll made sure they're punished for this," Myungjun said. 

"No!" Jinwoo didn't mean to raise his voice. Punishment would lead them back to Jinwoo, and maybe Sanha. He couldn't risk that. "That would not be necessary. I'm fine." 

Myungjun stared at him. Before his looks were sharp and emotionless, but now he looked at Jinwoo with complete fascination. 

"Your highness?" Jinwoo said. 

"I apologise for my stares," He shook his head. "My father rarely allows humans within the court and to see someone lie so easily is truly something else," 

"I'm not lying," Jinwoo stammered. 

"Members of my court almost harmed you," Myungjun said. "I believe the word fine is far from anything." 

“I promise, your highness, I am well,” Jinwoo stated. 

“I suppose so,” Myungjun nodded. “What is your name?” 

Jinwoo stared. He’s never step foot into the Courts before and here was the possible future king, asking for his name. 

“Jinwoo,” he said. “Park Jinwoo,” 

“Whose court do you follow?” 

“No one,” 

Now it was Myungjun’s turn to stare. 

“I mean, your highness, I was adopted by Noh Taeyoon when I was nine years old,” 

“Ah! Our fruit supplier!” Myungjun smiled. “I’m very fond of the strawberries your farm produces,” 

Jinwoo giggled at his surprising comment. He had introduced the fruit to them when he was twelve after making a comment to Taeyoon that it was his favourite fruit from the human world. “Thank you, your highness, my father will be pleased to hear you enjoy the goods,” 

Voices flood the corridor, louder with every passing second. Whoever was there was making its way to where the two stood. 

“Ugh,” Myungjun sighed. Jinwoo was surprised to even hear that come from a prince. “I know a shortcut back to the delivery hall, follow me,” 

Jinwoo expected Myungjun to lead him down the hall, and into a room but instead he had taken a couple of steps to his right to a painting of Myungjun’s great grandfather and placed his hand on the edges of the portrait. It shimmered slightly. 

Myungjun looked to Jinwoo and smiled, “Follow me,” 

Jinwoo frowned, and that made the prince smile even more. He turned away from Jinwoo and stepped straight into the painting, disappearing into the ink. It didn’t even change the image at all apart from a few small ripples. Jinwoo jumped and took a step back. 

“What the hell?” Jinwoo said, loudly and then clamped his mouth shut. Not the right language for royalty. Even if he could hear him, wherever he disappeared off to. Then a laugh echoed through the painting. 

“Come on!” Myungjun’s voice came through the painting. And so Jinwoo followed. It felt cold and the feeling of passing through magic tickled his body. He walked through and came out into a corridor, just as elegant as the outside but with fewer decorative pieces. 

“Wow,” Jinwoo mouthed. 

“Not many people get to go through these halls,” Myungjun said. “The frames only unlock themselves to the royal family.” 

“Then why am I here?” Jinwoo asked. 

“Turn around,” 

Jinwoo faced where the back of portrait stood and he could see clearly into the corridor they had just left. There stood a couple of maids and servants. All looking a bit flustered. 

“Well, he can’t have gone far!” one of them exclaimed. “His father expects him at the meeting in half an hour,” 

They bicker amongst themselves for a while before moving on to another room. 

“I just saved you from having to explain why you were in restricted areas of the Court,” Myungjun said. “And I’d rather postpone that meeting as long as I can,” 

“Plus, no one will ever believe me if I told them,” Jinwoo laughed, as Myungjun led them down the hall. “A human in the restricted area is already a tall lie on its own,” 

“Well, that’ll be changing soon anyway,” Myungjun waved off his statement like it’s no big deal. No human has ever joined the court, not since Myungjun’s great great grandfather was killed by a human, who evaded punishment by running back to the human world before his court date. Jinwoo remembers the cold stares in the history class. Jinwoo wanted to push further, but kept his mouth shut as Myungjun began to point out the details in the corridor. Family portraits, art works, all dating back centuries. Jinwoo didn't have the heart to tell him that he was already taught the history of the royal family the second he was enrolled into school. But Jinwoo enjoyed the energy the prince emitted from every word he spoke, a fresh of breath air that could even Jinwoo couldn't help but smile. Then Myungjun stops at a painting. From the back, Jinwoo could tell it's one of his grandmother, a painting commissioned of the day she was crowned Queen, almost six centuries ago. 

“Here’s our stop,” Myungjun smiled, and the two walked out the painting. Jinwoo shivered again as he stepped down but Myungjun seemed unaffected by it. They ended up just outside the delivery hall, just a few meters away from the carriage Jinwoo had entered in. 

“Well, that was interesting,” Myungjun said. “Forgive me for rambling, it’s not often I get to speak to someone my own age,” 

For now, Jinwoo thought, they may be the same age now but soon Myungjun’s looks will stay frozen in time, beautiful forever, and Jinwoo would start to grey and grow tired. A side effect of living here was realising how short his life was in comparison to others. 

"Jinwoo?" Minhyuk's voice echoed through the hall. He comes in rushing down the corridor, and almost falls when he skids to a stop, realising who was standing next to Jinwoo. “Ah- Your highness, forgive my rude entrance-” 

Myungjun smiled. “It’s fine, you were looking for your brother,” 

“Yes,” Minhyuk smiled, still unnerved by the prince’s presence. 

“Well, I must be off,” Myungjun bowed his head. “I do have a meeting to attend to,” 

“Of course!” Minhyuk grinned, bowing to the prince. Jinwoo followed after. “Good night, your highness,” 

Myungjun nodded to Minhyuk’s farewell and smiled at Jinwoo before turning back and walking away from them. 

Minhyuk grabbed his arm tightly. “Explain. Now.” 

Jinwoo relayed what happened, from Dongmin to all the way to where Minhyuk had found them. He omitted the detail of the portrait passages, but that didn’t stop Minhyuk’s jaw dropping at every moment of the story. Minhyuk buzzed with excitement after the story, his steps quickening to get home faster and tell Sanha. 

“Sanha is not going to believe this,” Minhyuk laughed the entire way home. And the thought of the young prince lingered in Jinwoo's mind until he was back in bed and deep in sleep.


	4. river

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> where are you, sanha?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, i accidentally lost the file to this entire fic after a windows update wrecked my laptop. I'm slowly rewriting the entire fic, please bear with me..

“And?”

“Minhyuk, I swear to God, I’m going to kill you if you ask me that again,” Jinwoo was gripping the carrots meant for the evening home deliveries in a tight hold. “I’ve told you everything that happened,”

Minhyuk rolled over on the sofa, his homework long forgotten as he laughed at Jinwoo’s frustration. “It’s Prince Myungjun! I can’t believe he was there that night! He’s so elusive that there’s a joke that he’s a vampire because the public rarely see him,”

“Now that you say that … he did look quite pale,” Jinwoo hummed.

Minhyuk looked up, wide-eyed and mouth dropped. Jinwoo chucked an old, rotting carrot at him. “No! You dumbass, I’m joking,”

Minhyuk skillfully dodged the carrot. “Hey, I’m telling Dad you’re calling me Human bad words again,”

Jinwoo ignored him, cleaning the rest of the fruit and moved it to the side of their kitchen, ready to deliver later. Jinwoo turned to the clock.

“Sanha probably did with his tutor now,” Jinwoo grabbed his coat. “Let’s go get him,”

While Dongmin and Bin’s terror acts on Sanha had stopped (Sanha claimed their attention was now on an elf boy that recently joined their class who had looked at them wrong apparently), Jinwoo and Minhyuk had quickly fallen into a pattern of picking him up after his extra Herbs & Property classes. They began this when it was at its worst and Sanha was close to almost dropping out of school. Legally, he couldn’t, but no one really cared if anyone attended lessons or not. Jinwoo held a smidge of the jealousy of the privilege that the magic folk had. They were taught by lecturers from all over the country – teachers came from all magical races to teach the stars and the ground below them. His human status stopped him from accessing any of it. But Minhyuk and Sanha always tried to keep him in the loop.

They walk the path to school in silence. Jinwoo and Minhyuk worked well like that, not every moment needed to be filled with speech. Sanha most likely would’ve butted in with a comment on someone silly that would have the boys cracking up or groaning in his stupidity. Instead, Jinwoo focused on the words around them.

“Prince Myungjun will be king,” A woman says, dusting her wares. “It’s been too long since this kingdom celebrated a coronation,”

Another girl squealed. “Oh, and the dresses we’ll wear!”

“Is that all you can think of?” A boy, stood next to the women, scoffed. “Coronations are a turning point in history.”

“You make it seem so bad,” the girl’s voice softened.

The boy shrugged. “Who knows what Prince Myungjun has planned for the kingdom,”

The girl giggled. “And what do you really think you’d be finally accepted to the join the Royal Guard? Sorry, they don’t accept pipsqueaks. Prince Myungjun maybe judging this year’s tournament, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be lenient. We may have no wars, but he still needs strong people to be in his army,”

The duo turns a corner until they make it to the entrance of the school.

Sanha wasn’t there.

 Something’s wrong. Jinwoo’s mind runs a million miles an hour. Not once in the whole year, they began walking Sanha home had Sanha deviated from their usual plan. Sanha stood outside the gate until Jinwoo and Minhyuk got there, and together they walked home. It was like clockwork this journey, and Sanha not being there meant something was wrong.

Minhyuk must’ve realised too. “Ah, maybe, he’s a little late,” But his words drop off slowly as he understands the same thing.

Jinwoo shuffled in the spot where he stood. Maybe he’s right, Jinwoo thought, he’s late, that’s all.

Until he heard a splash. And a group of laughter and whoops. The school was located next to a river. Jinwoo could tell what Minhyuk would say. It’s just kids messing about, he would suggest, we should wait here. But Jinwoo’s already running in the direction of the sound, Minhyuk not far after.

He breaks through the trees, ignoring the stinging feeling of it brushing roughly through his skin. The branches clip on his clothes, creating rips he knows have ruined his clothes. The laughs have disappeared now, and Jinwoo slowed down. But that was a mistake.

A large hand clamped down around his mouth, another wrapped themselves against his waist. Dragging him along. Jinwoo attempts to strike out, but it’s useless. Whoever it shoves him into the river. Jinwoo almost freezes from the shock. He’s barely out of the war, coughing up mud and whatever else was in there when another figure lands on him. Minhyuk. He has much faster reflexes so he’s up and standing long before Jinwoo can flip his hair from his line of sight. They’re both knees deep in the river. Whoever pushed them wasn’t strong enough to make them land further ahead. Jinwoo looks around. Whoever it was, they were long gone.

“It was fucking Dongmin and Bin,” Minhyuk swore. Jinwoo regrets teaching him that word. “It had to be,”

Jinwoo was still frozen, the water clearly impacting him more than Minhyuk. He squirms in the water, trying his best to clear the mud out of his boots. But every movement lead to Jinwoo just falling back into the water. He stumbles onto something hard and definitely not rock like. When he pulls his hand from the water, he’s bleeding. It was glass. From an inkpot that coloured the water a light pink. Jinwoo’s sight shifted to the rest of the lake. Paper was breaking apart in the waves, books were littered around the bank, getting caught on the rocks that jutted out from the river. This was all Sanha’s belongings.

“Sanha!” Jinwoo called out. “It’s us! Jinwoo and Minhyuk!”

No response.

Jinwoo moves, his foot slips on rocks and his almost engulfed in the muddy water again.

“Sanha!”

A small groan echoed through the river. Sanha moved out from the bundle of rocks that stood half a mile downstream from where Jinwoo and Minhyuk stood.

“Are they gone?” Sanha shivered.

Jinwoo and Minhyuk practically flop themselves down to the boy. He’s virtually frozen to the ground, and they pull him out onto the bank. Sanha doesn’t say anything. But his face shows it. Visibly and painfully. A dark bruise resided on the right of his forehead, and the colour in his cheeks was drained. His shirt was ripped, and they could clearly see the growing purple bruises on his arms and stomach.

They don’t say anything on their way home. Sanha makes sobbing noises, while Minhyuk holds his brother’s hand. No one looks at them as they walk back, ignoring the squishy sounds their boots made and the way the trio were shivering in their shirts. Jinwoo thinks about how much he hates Dongmin and Bin and how much he wishes he’d never see those two boys again. If he did, Jinwoo was sure he’d kill them both.

 


	5. a joke and an invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jinwoo makes a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, I've changed the name of Jinwoo's adopted father to Kim Siwoo. I don't know how it managed to skip my mind but I didn't realise I actually named him after their old manager and it felt weird using his name so I changed it lmao. 
> 
> ALSO i have like zero idea where I'm taking this. since i lost my inital plan, I only know how this will end so the middle parts are just me waffling. so sorry for that guys.

Jinwoo’s head is pounding. His eyes adjusting to the sun still in the sky. But he forces himself awake. He kicks the sheet and is practically dragging himself from the bed.

Today, he went home.

A fae child in his class had told him the nearest portal. And Jinwoo was lucky he knew where to find it. He knew that child had only showed him how to return to the human world because he was hoping Jinwoo would never come back. He almost didn’t but even if he did decide to stay in the human world, it wouldn’t have worked. He had adjusted too much and didn’t know the first thing to do in order to find his family. And would explain his sudden reappearance to his friends and family, who had most likely had already mourned his disappearance. Jinwoo wondered if they’re still looking. He had only been thirteen then, maybe now, almost twenty, he could return but he would sorely miss the family he had come to love.

But that didn’t stop Jinwoo from transporting himself back to the human world everyone now and then. No one knew, not even Minhyuk and Sanha. This was something that belonged to him. Not really but it was something he wasn’t ready to show his brothers yet.

He dressed in what little human clothes he had. Black jeans and shirt with a leather jacket. He had seen a human model wear a similar outfit and assumed that was the best look he could possibly find. The less attention he got, the better.

He silently left the house and began walking.

He keeps walking until he walks past all the homes and enters the wilder, forest areas. Where the untamed beings tend to live and Jinwoo had to make sure of every step he took. Here is where the unseen usually lived and Jinwoo didn’t want to leave this place with a curse placed on him.

He keeps going until he makes his way to the one lone cottage that stood by itself. A strong structure that was hidden behind the growing vines and flowers. He barely at the door when it swings open. Jinwoo smiles.

“Morning, Haseul,” Jinwoo greeted the old women who came from the door.

“Starting trouble, I see, Jinwoo?” the woman tutted, but gracefully took Jinwoo into a hug.

“Why would you say that?” Jinwoo grinned.

“Because the package looks fairly heavy today,” Haseul pointed to the bag of baked goods and fresh fruit and vegetables that Jinwoo had packed for her. As a child, Jinwoo used to offer whatever he had to convince Haseul to let him use her portal. A way to buy her silence. Haseul never told anyone but it became a custom when Jinwoo realized she enjoyed the company and gifts whenever Jinwoo came by. She lived alone, away from the high court society and fae lifestyle, opting for a more natural one.

“The harvest has been good,” Jinwoo passed the bag over to Haseul. “There’s even a box of raspberries in there for you,”

Dark and sour and fresh. The way Jinwoo knew Haseul loved them. She had offered him the similar ones on the day he came to the Fae world. A trembling, sniffling Jinwoo who sat there in her old rocking chair as she explained to Siwoo how to protect a fallen Jinwoo.

She waved Jinwoo off. “You know where to find her,”

“Thank you, Haseul,”

Jinwoo walked around her home and entered the garden. An untamed mess that Jinwoo could easily navigate with his eyes closes.

There stood a large oak tree where a hidden portal laid. The human world and the fae world lived together but in separate spaces. Magic separated the two worlds and there are often holes in both that someone- like Jinwoo or vicevesa- could accidently slip into either.

The portal shimmered against the bark of the tree. Barely visible but all Jinwoo had to do was push his hands through and it opened up swiftly. He walks through and in seconds, he ends up in a modern shopping mall car park. It’s too early enough for anyone to take notice of a boy climbing out a tree but the time was right that most stores were already opened. All he needed was one.

***

“Are you sure?” Minhyuk said. “How do I know these ‘stink bombs’ won’t go off on me?”

Jinwoo laughed. It was a childish way to respond, there were better ways for revenge but sometimes the human way was better. Anyway, unless Dongmin and Bin spent any time in the human world, there would have no idea what the stink bombs were.

“It’s fine, Minhyuk,” Jinwoo assured his brother. “Just break them and slip them into their lunch baskets,”

He sent his brothers off to school with a smile that morning. And the one Minhyuk came back with was even better. He quickly recalled the event before their father came back into the room. When Dongmin and Bin and their hoard of friends sat down to eat, they jumped back in disgusting horror at the smell of their food, contaminated by the small pellets.

“And the best part was that they couldn’t even frame us for it!” Sanha giggled. “Minhyuk took me to the healers during lunch to cover our tracks,”

The two younger brothers fall back into their laughs. Even when their father enters the room, the two are practically egging each other on to see who can break their silence with sniggers the quickest. Jinwoo knew if he had the confidence he would’ve walked straight up to the Courts and informed them of what they had done to Sanha, but a human’s word was like having no proof at all. At least this had brought a smile back to Sanha’s face.

Jinwoo was the last in the store, cleaning up the last of the vegetables and leftovers that hadn’t been sold. Closing up was something Jinwoo did alone so he was certainly surprised when Sanha and Minhyuk’s father entered the room.

“Jinwoo, can I speak to you?” Siwoo asked.

Jinwoo froze. He had rarely spoken personally to his adopted father and only on business terms. His mind ran a mile a minute. This was it. Had he learnt that he went back to the human world? Had he discovered his prank? Was he mad?

“I received a letter from the king,” he said.

 _Shit_ , Jinwoo thought, _we’re really screwed._

 “He wants to .. expand our business partnership,”

Jinwoo almost drops his parsnips.

“What do you mean?” Jinwoo asked.

 “He wishes for us to join the Court Gardens,” Siwoo explained. “I received a letter this morning. There was a dispute that led to their previous gardener being fired. And they request we take their position,”

“This is good, isn’t it?” Jinwoo asked. That was like the best promotion you could probably get. In the human world, probably. Jinwoo wasn’t sure how promotions worked here.  “You’re going to take it right?”

Siwoo sat down, groaning lightly at his aching bones. “The thing is, Jinwoo, he didn’t ask for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“The King requested that you join the Royal Gardens in my place,” Siwoo said. Jinwoo’s mouth dropped.

“Why?” Jinwoo asked. “Why me?”

 _Why a human?_ Jinwoo thought.

Siwoo shrugged. “I’m growing old, Jinwoo, and the courts weren’t made for the ageing like me,”

Jinwoo never asked for his fosters father’s real age. He had asked once as a child but Siwoo laughed and said that Jinwoo would never believe it. But Jinwoo could see it. His hair didn’t shine the way his sons did, his eyes didn’t sparkle as bright.

“And Sanha and Minhyuk are too young,” Siwoo continued. Jinwoo nodded. It wouldn’t be right to pull his brothers out of schooling. “But, this offer is just what it is, Jinwoo, an offer. It’s up to you to accept or not.”

A human in the courts. Working alongside the other fae. It didn’t sound right. It didn’t sound _real_. What would the king benefit from having a human in his midst? Someone who lifeline was a mere shoelace length compared to the centuries they held.

 _Well, that’ll be changing soon anyway._ That’s what Prince Myungjun had said to Jinwoo. His hands tightened around the tablecloth he held. What this was it was? Could Prince Myungjun really be the powers behind his request? Every bone in Jinwoo’s body screamed to say no, to decline the request. But he thought of the prince’s thoughtful words. Prince Myungjun was an enigma, a new piece in this game that was the Royal Courts where Jinwoo wasn’t sure he was ready to play. That meant living within their midst. Living just floors away from Dongmin and Bin. The thought made Jinwoo’s stomach sink to the ground. Rather than seeing them on the off chance during delivery, he would see them every day, growing food that they would consume. Maybe, he should’ve withheld his stink bomb prank…

Jinwoo turned to Siwoo. He couldn’t possible do anything that could harm his reputation. Jinwoo living in his house was damage enough. Maybe this would get him in the good books of the fae. Lessen the shame he brought upon his family and maybe never have to serve annoying customers ever again.

“Have you decided?” Siwoo asked.

Jinwoo nodded.

But his mind was already gone. And he couldn’t help but wonder what awaits in the courts where they would probably eat Jinwoo alive.


	6. interesting.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a tour by a surprising guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *unedited chapter*
> 
> This was supposed to be a more romantic fic but I really got too into the background that a plot is somewhat happening on its own. Also, did you guys see the sun rise and blue sky pictures?? I'm so excited for this comeback ahhhh I've already preordered it and I can't wait for it to be released!!!

Jinwoo didn’t own much so whatever personal belongings he held fit nicely into one brown satchel. Minhyuk was perched on the side of Jinwoo’s bed, part because he was watching his brother pack, part because it was actually now his bed. Jinwoo could see there a glint of happiness that Minhyuk was finally moving out of his shared bedroom with Sanha. But even then, he held his head low as he passed shirts and pants, folded neatly, over to Jinwoo. Sanha hadn’t emerged from his room since Siwoo had told him that Jinwoo was leaving. That left Minhyuk to say his goodbyes for both of them.

“I don’t think he’ll be mad forever,” Minhyuk whispered, breaking the silence. “I wouldn’t worry about it,”

Jinwoo’s stomach tossed and turned all night. His mind stuck on the look of horror that struck Sanha’s face when he heard the news. It was quick look which quickly turned to stone as he went upstairs and didn’t return. Jinwoo could swear he would hear muffled sobs when he passed his door.

“I know, Minhyuk, but _still_ …” Jinwoo’s words trailed off. “I don’t want him to think I’m betraying him. It’s just gardening and helping them monitor the food. It’ll be good for us. We’ll earn well.”

“But the Courts, Jinwoo…” Minhyuk said. “You’ll be smack in the middle of whatever the hell goes on in there. Gardener or not. You’re in their circles and how can you confirm your safety?”

Jinwoo knew the stories. The secrets, the parties, the aftereffect of it all was too much for a human. Jinwoo just needed to be smart and keep his head down and do his job. And hopefully, Dongmin and Bin would just be shadows in the background for him. His job was to serve the court, not be involved in it.

Jinwoo’s family home was located on the furthest edges of the Fae world. Borderline between the unknown realm, where the magic was dark and unkempt, and the lands where the Fae ruled. It had so happened the land was the most fertile where it was the most dangerous. Who knew was could jump out at them.

Jinwoo’s goodbyes were underwhelming understated. Sanha hadn’t left his room despite Siwoo’s demands and Siwoo had to return to work. Leaving one Minhyuk to wait with Jinwoo until the Court ride came. Minhyuk held himself quite well but as he saw the carriage enter the entrance, his face quickly dropped.

“Send a letter as soon as you’re settled,” Minhyuk said, clinging to Jinwoo’s travelling cloak. “And send a letter every month,”

Jinwoo squeezed Minhyuk. “I won’t be far, Minhyuk, it’s fine,”

“No, Jinwoo,” Minhyuk’s face darkened. “I know father usually kept you stuck into the store most of the time you’ve lived here but, please, be careful,”

“Minhyuk–”

“These aren’t regular customers that you serve in the shop, the ones whose food you deliver,” Minhyuk whispered harshly. Jinwoo’s stomach clenched. “These Fae run the land, and their tempers are even worse, don’t do anything that will harm you,”

Jinwoo escaped from Minhyuk’s iron-tight hold as the carriage settled next to them. What had the boy seen, Jinwoo thought.

“Goodbye, Minhyuk,” Jinwoo gripped his brother one final time in a quick hug. He entered the carriage. Its driver didn’t say much apart from a small grunt, acknowledging his presence.

“Don’t let them eat you alive,” Minhyuk said, as the carriage pulled away. Jinwoo’s eyes stayed on Minhyuk until the carriage drove away until his family home became nothing but a speck in the distance. Jinwoo would swear he could see another figure next to Minhyuk’s.

***

Jinwoo realized how right Minhyuk was. He was alien in a world that he spent almost half of his life in. Siwoo never allowed Jinwoo navigate further than the crops of their lands, his usually delivery spots and the areas where Sanha and Minhyuk attended school. Jinwoo knew it was for his own safety but now Jinwoo was alone. On the other side and without a friend or family besides him was daunting and the fear began to settle in his mind. How did the gardens work here? Jinwoo assumed they used magic and whatever they didn’t have space for was outsourced and supplied by people like Siwoo.

Now Jinwoo could finally see the courts in all their glory. It wasn’t like a regular court, all in one area, but a multi-complex castle that curved around a mountain, rolling upwards into multiple buildings that were well hidden within the edges of the mountain. Jinwoo didn’t know what happened there, maybe rooms where the court members lived and held their secrets.  But the area surrounded the mountain was where the main courts were held. Multiple story buildings that were designed to fit the nature surrounded it. Green scenery that hid the walls that have held strong for millennia’s. The air smells sweet and clear. Jinwoo gripped his seat. Too sweet, too enticing. Jinwoo just wanted to reach out but mentally slapped himself. If he caught himself in their dances, he would be lost to them forever, with no control.

The carriage stopped at the delivery entrance. Workers mulled around, carrying bits and bobs, cleaning where they can. Jinwoo recognizes most of the workers while they probably didn’t bother with a second glance. But one figure stood out from the rest, and even Jinwoo almost did a double take to make sure he was seeing right.

“How special must you be if you have the King’s first-born waiting for you?” The driver spoke his first words to Jinwoo.

“I swear I’m just the gardener!” Jinwoo stammered. “It’s probably a coincidence,”

Coincidence was thrown straight out the window the second his carriage settles and Princess Jiyeon and a servant were already by his door. The servant opened his door and reached out for Jinwoo’s bags.

“Sir, I’ll take those for you,” The servant smiled, his bright ice green eyes almost blinded Jinwoo.

“Ah, it’s fine, I can carry—” But the servant was insistent, and Jinwoo felt guilty. “Okay, then,”

“Park Jinwoo.” Jiyeon said. It sounded like a statement more than a confirmation of name.

“Uh-ah, yes, your highness,”

“You’re rather young, aren’t you?” She frowned at him, her stare burned and Jinwoo felt the need to look elsewhere.

“I’m twenty years old, your highness,”

She does a quick laugh. “That’s practically a baby in our eyes!”

Jinwoo nods, smiling seemed like the best response he could think of.

Jiyeon smirks. “You must follow me, Park Jinwoo,”

Jinwoo nods again and begins to follow Jiyeon. She’s a slender, tall woman who towers over Jinwoo in a graceful way. And her presence has everyone very shaken to their core. Workers stop what they’re doing just to bow to her, and Jinwoo could see in the corner of his eye the way they all stare at him, the little human boy trailing after the princess.

“Tell me what’s bothering you, Park Jinwoo,” Jiyeon leads him around the gardens, much further than Jinwoo had even been before. He catches the greenhouses, mini fields and trees that grew a variety of fruits and vegetables. All logic that Jinwoo knew in the human world was thrown away in the faerie world. Things that shouldn’t grow on trees did, and that food that should be retrieved from digging them up were strung on the trees like they were naturally made to do that. It was all very neat; not mess the way it was back home. Sometimes Sanha would “forget” where the most recent fruit patch was last planted and it would take hours for Jinwoo to comb through their field finding the missing fruits. Here, Jinwoo could see, everything had a place. Jinwoo didn’t know what he would be contributing here.

“Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but why am I here?”

“You were requested by my father, were you not?”

“Yes,”

“And you accepted the job?”

“Yes—”

“Then what’s there to be confused about?”

“Why me?”

Jiyeon stopped walking and turned to face Jinwoo. They were alone in the middle of a circle of tomato trees. “Why do you think?”

“A PR moment,” Jinwoo blurted and he winced at the look of confusion on Jiyeon’s face. “To make the Court look good.”

“Why on earth should the Court worry about its image?” Jiyeon asked. But they both knew the answers.

“You hold humans in inhumane magic contracts, under the guise of supplementing their livelihood for free work,” Jinwoo felt his chest tighten. His privilege of being free was something he knew took for granted, especially when he saw how dull-eyed the others look. He rarely spoke out, kept his mouth shut. The Jinwoo that was speaking now was a Jinwoo he had never seen before. Too quiet to be this loud.

“You speak boldly, Park Jinwoo,” Jiyeon said, almost brightly. “But anyone Fae can counteract your words with the truth. All humans who come here are free to leave,”

“But only if they solve whatever messed up puzzle their contractor conjures up,” Jinwoo counteracts and quickly bites back his tongue. He’s only been here two seconds, he can’t get himself kicked out so soon. “Not everyone one here is free,”

“And what does having Park Jinwoo here mean to the Court?” She asked.

“I see your plots and plants,” Jinwoo pointed to the gardens, referring to everything he had seen in his silent tour. “Everything is helped along with Magic here. I can’t fertilize soil that does it itself. I can’t water plants that water themselves,”

“You’re correct,”

“I’m the face of a façade,” Jinwoo states. “A proof to other humans that they too can work freely like me,”

Jiyeon crossed her arms and turns to look at the sky. The sun is rising soon, and she’ll have business elsewhere. Probably, sleep since she isn’t the direct heir.

“You’re an interesting one, Park Jinwoo,” Jiyeon smiled. She doesn’t’ confirm nor deny his words. Typical fae.  “Then why come? What do you want?”

Jinwoo is stumped at her simple question. Why was he here? Sure, the money was good, but he was still earning well for his family back at the farm.

“I don’t know,”

Jiyeon stares, and in a split second, he can see the resemblance to Prince Myungjun. A cute nose, round face, and the same brown hair.

“How do I know you’re not lying?”

“I’m not,” Jinwoo can feel his face heat. Of course, she didn’t believe him. No one did. For all she knew, Jinwoo could be plotting to kill the king.

“That’s a talent I wish I had,” Jiyeon sighs Jinwoo frowns. He wants to tell her it isn’t all that. He grew up with no one believing a word he said on the off chance it was a lie. The price he had given was wrong, his name wasn’t really Jinwoo and even Sanha and Minhyuk believe he was lying about his birthday, at first.

Before Jinwoo could say anything, they’re interrupted by a servant. His breath is heavy as if he’s been running about. Jinwoo guesses this tour had gone further than anyone had expected.

“My lady,” the servant said, once he had straightened himself out. “I’ve been informed I must escort Master Jinwoo for the tour and help him settle in,”

The tour? Jinwoo stared at the princess. She smiled.

“You’re not in charge of my tour?” Jinwoo asked, ignoring the look of horror on the face of the servant from his action of dropping formality.

“I see our time has run short, Jinwoo,” She stood by, admiring the trees that grew around her. “Please, don’t let me interrupt the rest of your tour,”

“Your Highness…” Jinwoo wasn’t sure of the best way to respond. Instead, he gave a short bow and turned away to follow the frightened staff.

The door slammed shut, leaving Jiyeon on her own. She plucked a tomato from its blue, leafy tree.

“This should be fun,”


	7. A New Job.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day is always the hardest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for going MIA. Uni started again and I am STRESSED. But I want to finished both my uncompleted fic before the year ends. so enjoy, and remember unedited.

Jinwoo soon realised how much freedom was given at Siwoo’s farm. The land was essentially his to control, he had his own plot of land that was his to care for. The Courts were already something different from the second he woke up.

 

He decided to skip out on his second tour last night and the servant quickly lead him to his room. A nondescript room with a simple bed and wardrobe. They had even given him a set of uniforms to wear. A silk white shirt and dark brown pants, with a burgundy jacket that wore the symbol of a flower. A simple sign to show other staff who he is and where he should be. A note from the tailor mentioned that the fabric was designed to repel any form of magic. He received a letter that morning from the King, requesting a meeting that evening. Jinwoo still had a whole day to go. The servant last night didn’t seem very informative of what Jinwoo’s role included, further confirming his ghost role in the Court. 

 

Jinwoo didn’t want to waste any time. He walked down the halls of the Courts, his steps more freeing than ever before. That didn’t stop the looks from coming and whispers that followed. Jinwoo recalled where the main plots were and ended up walking straight into a servant who was carrying freshly picked potatoes. He was a thin, pale boy with shaggy brown hair that he obviously trying to keep clear out of his sight. 

 

“Here,” Jinwoo offered, holding the other end of the basket. How the boy was holding it by himself was a mystery. “Oof- that’s rather heavy!”

 

The boy looked up and Jinwoo could clearly see his Elf features - probably a half-child judging from his lack of shiny skin but still had extremely bright blue eyes. 

 

“Oh no! It’s fine,” the boy stammered, and then his eyes dropped to the logo on Jinwoo’s chest. “We’re different areas anyway, you should be over in the main Gardens,”

“Trust me when I say they won’t be missing me,” Jinwoo grinned and pulled on the basket. “C’mon, it’ll be easier with us two,”

“I guess so,” the boy smiled, and accepted Jinwoo’s help.

“What’s your name?” Jinwoo asked.

The boys eyes shifted. He’s most likely never been asked that before. Or is he not allowed? 

“Ju Haknyeon.”

“Jinwoo.” 

“I know,” Haknyeon stammered. “You’re all everyone can talk about right now,”

“I’m not surprised,” Jinwoo pulled on the basket. “So, where are we taking this?”

***

Jinwoo quickly realised that Haknyeon’s role in the court was simply a runner. Whenever they needed something, he would be there straight away. 

“Well, there’s like a good fifty of us running about,” Haknyeon said. “So most of the time I’m just in the kitchen helping where I can,”

Jinwoo followed Haknyeon into the kitchen and began to help the boy clean the potatoes they carried. There were a few glimpses from the kitchen staff but that was quickly replaced once they heard Haknyeon’s voice. He was clearly loved in the kitchen. The older women pinch his cheeks, trying to feed him food to build him up, the men try to sit down and talk with him but they stop when they see Jinwoo trailing behind him. The two are sitting on stalls in the far corner of the kitchen, hidden by shelves, peeling the grubby potatoes when Prince Myungjun walks in. 

Jinwoo drops his potato. It lands in the water bucket meant to moisten the potato, splashing his and Haknyeon’s clothes slightly.

“Be careful,” Haknyeon gasped, clearly unfazed by the prince’s appearance. 

“Morning, Kaeun,” Myungjun greets one of the elderly women who was watching over the soup. 

“Ah, your highness, what brings you down to the dark mucks of the kitchen?” Kaeun laughs. 

“I’m merely making my greeting rounds,” Myungjun smiles at her, and Jinwoo grips his new potato tightly. 

“Careful!” Haknyeon lightly swatted his hand. “I can see why they put you up in the Garden! You’re killing my potatoes!”

“Jinwoo?” Myungjun’s voice has Jinwoo dropping another potato, much to Haknyeon’s dismay. 

Jinwoo stands up quickly, bowing lightly. Haknyeon follows suit now that he’s addressing the prince. 

“Your highness,” Jinwoo said, bowing.

“Forgive my bluntness, but Jinwoo, why are you here?” Myungjun asked. “I thought you were hired for the Gardens?”

“I was helping Haknyeon,” Jinwoo explained. “And I don’t think the Gardens really need my help….”

“Is that so..” Myungjun words trailed, before turning to Haknyeon. “Forgive me for interrupting, but is it possible to borrow Jinwoo for a few moments?”

“You can have him!” Haknyeon laughed, and took the potato from Jinwoo’s hand. “You’d be saving me and my potatoes!”

Myungjun laughed at the look of shock on Jinwoo’s face. 

“You’ll soon learn that Haknyeon really lacks a filter,” Myungjun said. “It’s endearing at most, but a headache to the staff sometimes,”

“You can say that again,” someone in the kitchen said. “Ah- don’t make that face Haknyeon, be lucky you’re adorable!”

Jinwoo catches the moment he’s in. Myungjun smiling and interacting with the staff around him as if he’s one of them and not the one next in line for the throne. Maybe this is what a King should be. Jinwoo had rarely seen Myungjun father, the King, he kept himself closed to his quarters and the meeting rooms. Perhaps a change is coming with Myungjun’s upcoming crowning.

Jinwoo follows Myungjun in a quiet pace, keeping to a couple of steps behind him. Quickly, Myungjun slows down so they’re walking side to side. 

“If they’re not utilising your skills at the garden,” Myungjun said. “I might as well borrow you for the time being,”

“Well, I’m at your service,” Jinwoo nodded. 

“My courtrooms are held in the east courts,” Myungjun explained as they made their way to the east rooms. “Of course, that’ll change soon but I require assistance with the garden,”

“Is there anything specific?” Jinwoo asked. 

“Oh, just general upkeep,” Myungjun shrugged. “I like to paint you see,”

“Really?” That stopped Jinwoo in his tracks. “I didn’t know that,”

“My father doesn’t see art as a hobby fit for a king,” Myungjun said. “So it’s not publicised to the public but I like to paint my garden,”

“That… sounds soothing,”

Myungjun turned to look at Jinwoo. “It is. But I’d like someone to help me with my garden,” 

He leads Jinwoo to his room where two guards were stationed at the door. They stared at Jinwoo before Myungjun waved them away, confirming his safety with Jinwoo. 

“I had to fire my previous gardener due to conflict in opinions,” Myungjun said, leading Jinwoo pass the main sector of his room. If Jinwoo’s room was plain and boring, Myungjun was the complete opposite. It was seeping in lavish fabric and deep, expensive colours. Velvet on velvet, sparkling diamonds hangs for no reason but for aesthetic, there’s even a rich scent that has Jinwoo in deep comfort. But then Jinwoo is led to the balcony where there was a set of stairs that led to the main garden. Here is where, Jinwoo thought, Myungjun is really at peace. An easel was set up with a worn out but comfortable stool next to his with a small table of art supplies. Paints, pencils and brushes. There’s a certain type of messiness here that didn’t exist in his other rooms. One that was for Myungjun and Myungjun only. Even just staring at the paint and knowing this was his own area made Jinwoo uncomfortable. Like he shouldn’t be here. 

But Jinwoo could see what the Crown Prince has meant. Vines were overgrown, flowers were mismatched, and the garden looked like it hadn’t received a good sweep in a while. 

“Sorry, it’s probably too much for you to work with,” Myungjun said sheepishly. Jinwoo stared at him, it was cute to see the Prince this flustered over a garden. 

“No, your highness,” Jinwoo grinned. “I can work with this,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, stan The Boyz


	8. No Place For A Human

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually laughing at my last chapter note. I really thought I could finish this fic before the year end. Uni really got me down this semester and but I do hope to do weekly updates for this fic.   
> Thank you to everyone who left really sweet comments, I'm sorry that I can't update this as often as I want, but I hope to be more frequent with my fics since one of my new year resolutions is to write more. 
> 
> Also, I made a twitter acc for this fic acc so I can ramble on about liar, liar and other potential fic ideas. You can find me @zarohawrites on twitter.

Jinwoo quickly caught onto the fact that Prince Myungjun was a talker. Seriously. Jinwoo quickly got to work with cleaning the garden, while the prince mainly attended to his duties. Today, it mainly consisted of multiple staff members rolling in and out of his room, informing him of new developments and news within the kingdom. He signs off on multiple events and projects. Different people every hour, but Myungjun’s voice never tired. He greeted every member like the last, brightly and politely.

 

It was already halfway through the day, and Jinwoo had cleared most of the garden. Prince Myungjun gave him the go ahead to do whatever with the garden, he was free to even have Haknyeon bring him anything he needed. Jinwoo decided to clear the garden and restore it to its original looks. He swept the floors, fixed some plant pots, and even helped Haknyeon drag new furniture towards the end of the garden, up against the walls, that worked as a private rest area. A location that was hidden well beneath the trees and plants. His own little hideaway.

 

“Oh, this is niceeeee,” Haknyeon yawned and collapsed on the wicker chair they had just placed.

 

“Haknyeon!” Jinwoo gasped.

 

“Ah, c’mon, just give me a second,” Haknyeon laughed, his voice bounced through the garden. “This spots so hidden away, no one will mind if we rest,”

 

“This is day one on the job, I can’t rest!” Jinwoo said. “God, you’re exactly like my brother, Sanha. He once claimed he deserved a day off because he tripped over a tree,”

 

“Sanha sounds like my kind of friend,” Haknyeon grinned.

 

“You can meet him this week,” Jinwoo said. “My family deliver fruit and vegetables every Friday,”

 

Haknyeon tipped an imaginary hat, and leaned even more into the chair.

 

“Okay,” Jinwoo said, collecting the rubbish he had picked and the leftover roots he had pulled. “I’m gonna find where to put these,”

"Oh, that's at the end of the--"

 

"I'll find it myself," Jinwoo assured, he had already relied on the boy so much, it would do him some good to find something on his own. "You rest,"

"Poetry to my ears," Haknyeon grinned.

 

He walked his way back to the entrance of the garden. Jinwoo suddenly noticed how quiet it had gone. The door was no longer open before Jinwoo could hear everything Prince Myungjun was discussing, now there was nothing. Maybe he had been summoned elsewhere.

 

He pushed through into the main room, the door opened, and angry voices flooded out. Voices that made Jinwoo freeze, but also his blood boil.

 

"Oh, we have company, I see," Moon Bin grinned at Jinwoo's entrance. Moon Bin was lounging around on the sofa, while Dongmin was leaning against Prince Myungjun's desk, the crown prince clearly entertained yet somewhat unamused by the duo in front of him. Dongmin looked up, his look of anger dissipated once he recognised who he was, and began to scowl.

 

"Jinwoo," Prince Myungjun said. "Have you already finished?"

 

"Almost, your highness," Jinwoo said, his sight straight onto the Prince, refusing to even look at Dongmin or Moon Bin. His hands tightened around the bags of dirt and rubbish. "You're free to take a look, if you wish,"

 

"I would love that," the prince smiled, and then turned to the others. "You're free to leave,"

 

"Surely, we should finish our discussion-" Dongmin started.

 

"Enough for today," Myungjun cut him off, before turning back to Jinwoo. "I have a garden to see,"

 

Myungjun rose from his desk and began to walk to the door, Dongmin and Moon Bin watched silently as the Prince made his way to Jinwoo and walked into the garden.

 

"I'll be there, your highness," Jinwoo lowered his head, and raised the bags his held. The Prince nodded in response and walked out into the balcony to wait.

 

That left Jinwoo alone with Dongmin and Moon Bin.

 

"You should enjoy this while it lasts," Dongmin muttered. "A human will never last in the Courts,"

 

Anger flared in Jinwoo, and he looked up to Dongmin.

 

"What did I ever do to you?" Jinwoo asked in a frustrated sigh. "What did my brother ever do to you?"

 

Dongmin scoffed, and Jinwoo could see Moon Bin rise from his chair, sensing an imminent argument.

 

"You know Bin here can shatter your bones in a million way, and I can make them heal in all the wrong places,"

 

"Hate me for being human, I don't care," Jinwoo said. "But to hurt another fae, as you did with Sanha at the river, that's disgusting, and both of you should be ashamed of yourselves to do that,"

 

Moon Bin turned to Jinwoo, a look of confusion spread across his face. Jinwoo's blood boiled, how dare he pretend innocence in this moment?

 

"Humans are nothing but a stain on our history," Dongmin said. "Our fae ancestors should've never left your kind to enter our realm, we pitied your kind, who came to us in their hour of need,"

 

"Dongmin, surely the human doesn't require a history lesson," Moon Bin rested his hand on Dongmin's shoulder. His anger lessened slightly under his touch. Jinwoo had to agree. He was well aware why fae contracts existed with humans. Some ancestors entered the fae world, when the human world was partaking in a war that devastated the earth. Humans got greedy, fell in love with the Fae world, damaging it in a way that created mistrust.

 

"You shouldn't be here," Dongmin scoffed. "And anyone who allows you to stay is a traitor to our kind,"

 

"Dongmin," Moon Bin's voice wavered.

 

"The king's gone mad listening to Myungjun's plans to remove the contracts," Dongmin spat, and turned to the exit to leave. He sauntered off, and as he reaches the door, his hand tight on the door handle, turned back to Jinwoo. His eyes hot with anger. "You shouldn't have the right to be free in our world,"

 

Dongmin walked off in silent anger. Moon Bin still stood silently in the room. He walked over to the Jinwoo, who was currently living in his own world of anger.

 

"Here," Moon Bin reached to bags Jinwoo was holding. "I'll drop that off for you,"

 

"No, I can-"

 

Moon Bin ignored him and took the bags from Jinwoo's hands.

 

Moon Bin began to walk to the door. He stopped at the entrance and Jinwoo readied himself for another insult. Instead, that never comes, and he silently exits, leaving Jinwoo alone in the room.

 

Maybe Minhyuk was right, Jinwoo thought, maybe the court is truly no place for a human. 


	9. The King's Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trouble is starting...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to remind myself this is supposed to be a romance fic?? but I am way too heavily invested in this plot that I think this is gonna end up more slow burn than I had intended. Also, expect more Myungjin soon, I just need the plot to start properly
> 
> as always: unedited because I am the worst.

"Oh, this is perfect," Prince Myungjun gushed. He was fast walking all around the garden and greenery by the time Jinwoo managed to compose himself and return. 

 

"You cleaned the moss off the statues and paths so well!" Myungjun gasped. "Most of the time gardeners leave it because it was too much work,"

 

"That was all Jinwoo, your highness," Haknyeon grinned, he circled around and threw an arm around Jinwoo. "He was on his knees for hours,"

 

"Thank you," Myungjun smiled, and that was enough for Jinwoo to pull him out of his misery. 

 

"It's my job," Jinwoo nodded, his shivering hands hidden behind his back so the Prince couldn't see, but Haknyeon stared at his friend. 

 

"Excuse me, your highness," a foreign voice announced itself. A messenger. 

 

"I'm to see Park Jinwoo to the King," the messenger announced. Jinwoo's hand clammed up even more. 

 

"And you will," Myungjun nodded, and then turned to Jinwoo. "Don't worry, my father isn't as scary as he seems,"

 

Jinwoo didn't say anything but a bow to Myungjun as he swiftly followed the messenger leaving Myungjun and Haknyeon to their own devices. Just as he was out of earshot, Jinwoo could hear Haknyeon pouch on the Prince with his idea to install a swing in the back of the gardens, an idea that Jinwoo had quickly brushed off, but it seemed the Prince enjoyed the idea. Their laughs bounced off each other as door closed behind Jinwoo.

 

* * *

The messenger doesn't respond to Jinwoo's prying questions. And instead just quickly deposits Jinwoo at the towering door to the King's Court. Here is where the King met his subjects, main meetings and the biggest parties were held. Today, it was silent, except for the guards who stood at every corner to its entrance. 

 

As the door slowly opens, Jinwoo takes a deep breath and enters the hall. 

 

It's big, elaborate and decorative. Gold and silver and other colours that Jinwoo could not describe were splashed on the walls. Everything _shined_. His eyes surveyed the room until it landed on the King. 

 

King Hongbin has several scrolls rolled over the table in front of him. His brown, but greying hair is pulled back into a ponytail, a glittering crown sat upon his head. Even his doublet is shining with heavy silver. Jinwoo halts once he's close enough, before kneeling before the king. 

 

"Rise," he said, and Jinwoo slowly returns to his feet. 

 

The King picks up a drink from his table, it was filled with pink liquid. A servant nearby offers something similar to Jinwoo. 

 

"Will you drink with me?" the King asked.

 

Jinwoo politely shook his head. "I am fine, your highness. I thank you for your kindness,"

 

The king motioned for the servant to pull back. "That's fine. All I require is a conversation for the newest staff,"

 

He sits up straighter and looks to Jinwoo. "How does your first day fare in my courts?"

 

"Exciting, my king," Jinwoo's mouth dried up, and he's worried his words will come out wrong. Perhaps he should've taken a drink. 

 

"I do say," the king chuckled. "From what my servants say, you've been working quite the sweat in my youngest's garden,"

 

"I apologise for any offence, your highness," Jinwoo stammered. "I know you hired me for my family's skill in harvest."

 

"No need," the king said. "I'm glad my son has chosen someone for himself, rather than him firing whoever I've assigned for the job,"

 

Jinwoo looked into the silver grey eyed King. His voice was soft, and kind. Different from when Jinwoo would hear his announcement spread via magic waves. 

 

"I think it might be my turn to apologise," the King said. "I hear my eldest caused you some issues with you first arrived,"

 

Jinwoo could feel his face go warm. The king? Apologising to a human?

 

"Ah, your highness, Princess Jiyeon was simply curious," Jinwoo looked down. "There is nothing to apologise for,"

 

"I see," the king said. "Nothing to cause you discomfort?"

 

Jinwoo shook his head. 

 

"Jiyeon is a curious child, it seems to reside in her the most," the King said. His eyes go distant, a look of love in them as he thought of his children. Myungjun and Jiyeon were more known to the public, the other three of his children were not as public as the two, they don't even reside in the Courts anymore, to Jinwoo's knowledge. He recalls the remaining siblings being sent to various corners for purpose of strengthening bonds between other non-fae kingdoms. 

 

"All is well then," the King grinned. "I had initially called for this meeting to discuss your works in the field, but it seems that you've found yourself another job,"

 

"I hope that doesn't affect anything, your highness," Jinwoo asked. 

 

"Not at all," the King said. "I believe my son will invite you to join his court sometime soon, that is, if he hasn't already,"

 

"His court?" Jinwoo frowned.

 

"These people you see before me," the King signalled to the staff, servants and other royal courts members before them. "Loyalty to the crown is not passed down when a new leader is crowned, they are formed."

 

Jinwoo watched everyone silently work around the two. No one really acknowledges the King unless his attention demands them too. For now, they're all silent workers. He couldn't possibly see Myungjun working like this, the very man who acknowledges everyone in the room before even thinking about leaving it. 

 

"It is not news that my son is next in line for the throne," the King coughed, it was heavy and appeared to have pained him to do so. "Preparing his court, the new generation of leaders is the responsibility of the new king,"

 

"Your highness," Jinwoo said.

 

"And that being said," the King's tone darkened. Jinwoo takes a step back in shock. his airy voice was replaced with something bitter, harsher, meaner. "If you are to receive an invitation at request of my son, I urge you to decline,"

 

Suddenly, Jinwoo is hyper aware of the people around him, who are now watching him silently from all corners of the room. A breeze swept through the room, tickling the nape of Jinwoo's neck. This is it, Jinwoo thought, what Minhyuk had warned him of. The king's tone was clear. Keep your head down, stay where you can be seen. Take a step further, and you'll wish you hadn't. 

 

"Have I made myself clear?" the King said, breaking the silence that Jinwoo left hovering between him. Jinwoo doesn't need to fill in the blanks. He just needs to say the right answer. 

 

"Yes, your highness," Jinwoo said. 

 

"You may turn in for the night, Park Jinwoo," the king said. No goodbyes, no signals. A command more than a goodbye.

 

A servant appears behind Jinwoo that makes him jump. 

 

Jinwoo followed the staff diligently and even when the main door is shut tightly behind him, he's too scared to even say anything to the staff leading him. 

 

By the time Jinwoo has returned to his room, he can feel the fatigue settling into his bones. The awareness of knowing he'll be sleeping in a comfortable, with no distractions from two younger brothers, is more of a dream than being at the courts. He's ready to fall straight into bed without washing up, but something isn't right. Someone was in his room. 

 

Jinwoo halts at the sudden guest, sitting at the desk in his room. Moon Bin's feet is up on the desk, his hands peeling an apple with a knife. The skin of the apple laid on the table, as he cut them into slices. He raises both eyebrows. 

 

"Here," he chucks a slice towards Jinwoo, before placing one into his mouth as well. "We need to talk, "

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooo


	10. oath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moon Bin's plan and Jinwoo's decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UNEDITED

"Why are you here?" Jinwoo asked. Damn, formality, he thought, but he does halt on his words slightly. He even sinks into a low bow. _What does Moon Bin want?_

 

"I come in peace," Moon Bin shrugged. "And to ask you of something,"

 

"If it's to leave this court without Dongmin hovering over us, don't worry," Jinwoo sighed. "I really think I'm close to just jumping ship soon,"

 

"What?" Moon Bin placed the knife down. Jinwoo realises how less scary he looks when he's bare, with little armour and no extravagant clothing. "Why on earth would you leave the courts?"

 

"This isn't exactly heaven on earth," Jinwoo glared at him. "And I don't think the King wants me here anymore,"

 

"What?" Moon Bin's voice squeaked slightly. He gets up and stands right close to Jinwoo. "What did he say?"

 

"Well," Jinwoo tugged at the threads of his shirt. It got caught on some branches in Prince Myungjun's garden. He'd have to fix it up himself later. "He didn't say it exactly, but I know he doesn't want me here,"

 

"It's true," Moon Bin said. 

 

"Well, thanks," Jinwoo said. "At least someone's honest here,"

 

"We're fae, we're always honest," Moon Bin said. "We're just good with words,"

 

"And what good words do you bring with you this fare evening?"

 

"It was Myungjun's idea to bring you here," Moon Bin explained. Jinwoo stared in confusion. "The King agreed, but only to keep you as far away from anyone important as possible. He's probably upset that Myungjun ignore his decision and brought you closer to him,"

 

Jinwoo's heart sinks. At least, what he expected was real. He just hadn't realised how painful it was to hear the truth. Damn, the fae, he thought. 

 

Jinwoo allows himself to sink into his bed. 

 

"Why does the Prince want me?" Jinwoo whispered, leaning back into his bed.

 

"Myungjun is older than Dongmin and I, but he's still young," Moon Bin said. "He has these ideas that spin around in his mind. And one of these bright ideas is banishing human contracts,"

 

"No fae will agree to that," Jinwoo gasped. He thinks of Dongmin's anger. 

 

"Not if the king decrees," Moon Bin explained. "And he'll be king soon,"

 

"And me..."

 

"You were chosen because you have no allegiance to any other fae household," Moon Bin said. "You're the only free human in the land,"

 

"So what am I supposed to be doing here, anyway?" Jinwoo sighed in frustration. "Just sit still and look pretty to any passing fae?"

 

"That's what the King wants you to do," Moon Bin towered over Jinwoo at the side of his bed. "But I have another request for you,"

 

"And that is?"

 

"Join Myungjun's Court," Moon Bin said. "Pledge allegiance to the future King,"

 

"Hell, no." Jinwoo said immediately. And that has Moon Bin frowning in confusion. "That's exactly what the King threatened me about!"

 

"Jinwoo-"

 

"No," Jinwoo said harshly. "You don't get to barge in here and expect me to something I know will is the quickest way to get me killed!"

 

Moon Bin attempts to speak again.

 

"No, do you expect me to forget the other day?" Jinwoo yelled. "Or do you expect me to forget every single day Sanha has suffered under Dongmin's hands,"

 

That silences Moon Bin. 

 

"Jinwoo, I deeply apologise for the actions of Dongmin," he said quietly. "I also wasn't aware of the forest incident either. It appears some onlookers became embolden by Dongmin's cruel tendencies,"

 

"Nothing you say for him will mean anything," Jinwoo spat.

 

"But I urge you to reconsider joining," Moon Bin said. "Not his King Court, but his Court of Shadows?"

 

"Court of Shadows?"

 

"The King may have informed you of the process of creating a King court, but what he failed to mention that with every King comes his own Court of Shadows," Moon Bin sighed. "A Hidden court whose members sole purpose is to protect the well being of the king,"

 

"And who does this court consist of?"

 

"Myungjun's court is new, still being formed," Moon Bin said. "Right now, it is Dongmin and I,"

 

"I don't want this," Jinwoo frowned. The idea of working alongside Dongmin is repulsive. "What can I do to even help protect the Prince?"

 

"You can," Moon Bin smiled. "Think of what skill do you possess that no other fae will ever inhabit,"

 

Jinwoo has to think deeply about this, his human capacity is little to nothing when compared to the powerful fae. But then it clicks. What Moon Bin had said before.  _We're fae, we're always honest._

 

"Lying," Jinwoo said. "The fae can't lie."

 

Moon Bin looks pleased.  "Tell me what you want, Jinwoo."

 

Jinwoo is breathless. He feels a little light-headed, dizzy. 

 

"I ask you again, Park Jinwoo, what do you want if it'll persuade you to be part of Myungjun's company,"

 

Jinwoo takes a deep breath to think. There is danger in taking a fae's promise. Faerie bargains rarely favour humans. But the potential for anything is too good to give up. 

 

"Immunity," Jinwoo said, he fidgets in his seat. His thoughts go to his family, the ones far away from the dangers of this courts, yet so close. "My family will be safe regardless of what happens to me,"

 

Moon Bin regards Jinwoo thoughtfully. 

 

"Your voice speaks clear, but I know your mind is elsewhere,"

 

Jinwoo nodded. "Sanha, especially, is left alone."

 

"I thought so," he sighed, as he leaned against Jinwoo's bed. "Dongmin is blunt and finds delight in being cruel. Even as his lover, I can't seem to control him,"

 

"Well, control him," Jinwoo said. "Or I leave tonight,"

 

Moon Bin nodded. "I'm sure he will agree with some persuasion,"

 

"And if I'm not here for court hood, then why am I here?"

 

Moon Bin's face darkened. 

 

"What do you want, Moon Bin?" Jinwoo asked. "What does the Prince want me to do?"

 

"Myungjun is not aware of what goes on within his court of shadows," Moon Bin said. "If you were to swear an oath to his court, he must never be aware of your actions here,"

 

"Why?"

 

"We are here to protect him by all means necessary," Moon Bin stood up and walked to the centre of the room. "And I need a spy,"

 

"That's all I'm good for, huh?" Jinwoo shrugged. But Jinwoo couldn't deny his skill to hide in plain sight, pretending to be a human under spell. But it was always used in jest, child's play when it helped him win.

 

"Why do you even need a spy?"

 

"There is evidence to believe that someone is attempting to sabotage Myungjun's claim to the throne,"

 

"Who?" Jinwoo leaned forward.

 

"I can't say," Moon Bin shook his head. "Not until I have your oath,"

 

Moon Bin approached Jinwoo once more. He touches Jinwoo's shoulder. 

 

"It's not easy to be a human in the court, but we will make it easier," Moon Bin explained. "I won't expect you to fight, shed blood. You'll still be working as the Prince's personal gardener. I just need an inside man,"

 

"I won't be bound to you," Jinwoo said. "There must be a way to do this without me signing anything of myself away,"

 

"The court of shadows requires no bonding apart from the power of your own oath," Moon Bin said. "The choice is always yours,"

 

"And my family will be safe?"

 

Moon Bin nods. "So you accept,"

 

Jinwoo shivered. He was being given an opportunity which will change his life. Protect his family. The rush of excitement flooded his mind. Will he be able to succeed in helping the prince? Then came a flood of panic. The King's gaze pierced his soul. The wandering eyes of this court made him question this sensibility.

 

"I... need to think,"

 

"Think fast, Park Jinwoo," Moon Bin said. He makes his way to the door's entrance. "I'll give you a day,"

 

* * *

 

The day goes by quicker than Jinwoo expected. Soon after Moon Bin had left, Jinwoo collapsed and fell in deep sleep. Haknyeon came to wake him up the next day, and he almost thought it was all a dream until Haknyeon chastised him for leaving apple peelings on his desk. 

 

Jinwoo sucked in a breath as the words of last night rattled around in his brain. Something inside him always yearned to be acknowledged. Ever since he came here, he was always fighting to be seen, to be heard. And Myungjun was starting something that will finally allow that. But, like Moon Bin implied, someone was trying to stop that. And he'd hate to see the Prince hurt because of something he could've stopped. 

 

"Haknyeon," Jinwoo said, interrupting the boy's one-sided conversation about breakfast foods. "Where can I find Moon Bin's room?"

 

Haknyeon doesn't question and leads Jinwoo straight there. He pushes the door open to find Moon Bin waiting like he had expected him to be there.

 

So, right there, he goes down on one knee and swears himself into Myungjun's shadow court. 


	11. a new muse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jinwoo receives his first assignment, but not without more questions that go unanswered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UNEDITED 
> 
> ENJOY.

** **

All morning, Jinwoo is conscious of the decision he's made. Like a mark that everyone can see. But no one was ever the wiser. After the theatrics of entering his room unannounced, Moon Bin sent him off. 

 

"I'll call for you later," he said. "There's too many people about,"

 

"How will I know?"

 

Moon Bin grinned. "Oh, you'll know."

 

He's sitting in the kitchen dining area alone, eating his stuffed chicken and potato mash. Haknyeon sits himself down not long after, his plate piled up with food that Jinwoo didn't even know the name of. They eat in silence, but that doesn't last long once Haknyeon's curiosity flares up. 

 

"What's that?" he frowned at Jinwoo's plate. 

 

"Chicken and mash," Jinwoo said, turning his plate towards the boy "Want some?"

 

"No, thanks," he shovelled a spoonful of food into his mouth. "Looks plain,"

 

"Thanks," Jinwoo panned. 

 

"Oh don't go sour on me because you have a human's tastebuds," Haknyeon laughed. "Anyway, how was the meeting with the king? You haven't mentioned it all morning?"

 

"A welcome talk," Jinwoo shrugged. "Nothing special,"

 

"Oh, really?" Haknyeon said. He gulped down a glass of water in seconds. His appetite rivals Sanha, and Jinwoo can't wait for the two to meet. 

 

"Anyway, I'm done," Jinwoo said, finishing off the last of the bones on his plate. The court fae eat freely, and quite wasteful too, Jinwoo realised he's the only person there on the table with a finished plate.  

 

"I'll see you at the garden, then," Haknyeon grinned, and then turned his conversation to the servant next to him.

 

Jinwoo takes his time walking back, absorbing his surroundings, taking in every little detail he can find. There are dozens of the Folk walking around, attending to their own business, not even acknowledging Jinwoo. He's dressed better today. Grey leather boots with a maroon tunic. Prince Myungjun's court colours. He had insisted in the note he left that morning that Jinwoo wore his colours. 

 

He walks past a quad that he hadn't seen before. A large square field where a group of soldiers were training. The tournament. 

 

"You aren't thinking of joining, are you?" a voice sneered past him. Jinwoo turns away from the crowd to see that Dongmin had passed him. Dongmin almost does a double take when he recognises the colours he's wearing. Jinwoo relishes in the look he gave.

 

"No, I'm not," Jinwoo said, and then turned away. He realises that they're technically working together, but that doesn't he needs to talk to him off hours. Do spies even have working hours?

 

"You probably should," Dongmin sneered. "It'd probably do you a whole lot of good,"

 

"What will?" A new voice entered. Prince Myungjun came around the corner. "Oh, Jinwoo! The outfit looks marvellous!"

 

"Thank you, your highness," Jinwoo bowed. Dongmin took a step back from the two. 

 

"Your highness," Dongmin deeply bowed. "I was just jesting with Jinwoo that he should join the tournament,"

 

Jesting, Jinwoo thought, he looks like he was ready to shove me straight into that pack of Knights like raw meat to wolves. 

 

"Oh, I hope not," the Prince laughed. "I just got my gardener! I don't want to lose him now!"

 

The sunlight filter onto the trio. Glitter shines off their hair, sparkles on the lining of the fabric. Jinwoo felt his stomach twist. It was moments like this that made him realise his humanity. These two gorgeous people in front of him, and yet despite his clothing, he felt ... dull. 

 

"If you excuse me, your highness," Dongmin said. "I believe the training begins soon,"

 

"Oh, don't be late on account of me," Prince Myungjun smiled. "You are excused,"

 

Dongmin leaves and Jinwoo breathes deeply.

 

"Is everything okay?" Prince Myungjun asked. "I know you two didn't exactly have the greatest meeting..."

 

"It's fine," Jinwoo lied. "Water under the bridge,"

 

Prince Myungjun smiled and nodded. "Good, come with me, there's something I wish for you to see,"

 

The prince led him back to his room, and straight to the garden. His usual paint set up was there, a bit messier today. His canvas was still bare and a stool was near by.

 

"Sit," Prince Myungjun offered the seat.

 

"Oh, no, your highness, I'm fine," Jinwoo shook his head. "I should probably install that swing you requested,"

 

"Please, the swing can wait," he insisted. "How is an artist supposed to draw his subject if he's not comfortable?"

 

"Me?" Jinwoo gasped. "You want to draw me?"

 

The Prince nodded with such glee. Why, Jinwoo thought, you live in paradise and are surrounded by the world's most beautiful things. 

 

"Surely, there are more prettier things to draw," Jinwoo said.

 

"I've drawn this entire palace court back to front," Prince Myungjun said. "An artist needs a new muse,"

 

Jinwoo could fight longer on this subject, but then he realised he was arguing with the boy who was next in line for the throne. His future King. He sits silently. 

 

"Thank you," Prince Myungjun smiled.

 

"Should I just- sit - isn't there a pose you'd like?" Jinwoo stammered. 

 

"Just be yourself,"

 

How could I, Jinwoo thought, I was just hired to lie for you. 

 

Instead, he sits back on the stool and looks to the prince. 

 

"Perfect," he smiled.

 

Jinwoo can feel the heat rising in his cheeks. Hopefully, the prince doesn't include blush in his artwork. 

 

"How have your first days at court been?" Prince Myungjun asked, as he began to sketch. 

 

"Surprisingly well, your highness,"

 

"Myungjun," he said, looking up from his canvas. "I wish for you to drop formalities in private,"

 

"Oh, I don't think I can do that--"

 

"Please, as your future king," Prince Myungjun pouted. 

 

"I don't think that how a High King should use their powers," Jinwoo grinned. "But, as you wish, Myungjun,"

 

There's a moment silence before the two of them burst into laughter.

 

"It'll take a while," Jinwoo said. "Forgive me if I slip back into it,"

 

They sit in comfortable silence again, while Myungjun sketches over and over again. He gets frustrated at one point and has to start over again. Jinwoo begins to fidget, his eyes constantly returning to the garden door. He'd hate for one of the King's staff to enter and see him _not working._

 

"May I ask you something," Myungjun returns to his sketches, glancing every now and then in Jinwoo's direction. 

 

Jinwoo nods.

 

"What did my father ask of you yesterday?"

 

Jinwoo froze.

 

"Nothing much," Jinwoo coughed, in hopes of it concealing his shock. "He just wanted to meet me face to face,"

 

"Oh, I hardly believe that," Myungjun rolled his eyes. "And you're a great liar,"

 

"Huh?"

 

"I saw you leave his court," Myungjun said. "There's more colour in my paint palette than there was in your face last night,"

 

Really? Jinwoo thought. His mind recalls to last night. He hadn't seen anyone. Perhaps Myungjun would be a better spy than him. 

 

"You've probably been told many things about your arrival here. My family can be rather... blunt yet mystical," Myungjun said, his eyes reaches the top of his canvas. His light, shining eyes met with Jinwoo's. "Ask away,"

 

Jinwoo's throat tightened. 

 

"Why am I here?"

 

"Why do you think?"

 

"You're months away from becoming the new High King," Jinwoo stammered. His hands are sweating so much that it's slipping from its place on the stool. "And you want to remove human contracts,"

 

Myungjun says nothing. He continues to work away on his canvas, moving away from sketches, now using paints. 

 

"It's true, isn't it?" Jinwoo said.

 

"It's true," Myungjun placed his brush down. "I am attempting to remove the legality behind human contracts,"

 

"Why?"

 

"Why not?" Myungjun frowned. 

 

"The fae aren't kind people," Jinwoo said, wincing at his choice of words. "They revel in the power they have, they won't be happy to lose that,"

 

"And for the humans who suffer under their hands," Myungjun said. "Don't they deserve to be free?"

 

"They do," Jinwoo said. Jinwoo recalls his childhood watching children like him trail behind Faeries like cattle. But changing laws can't change millennium old mindsets. 

 

"Then I must ask something of you, Jinwoo," Myungjun said. 

 

_Oh, no,_ Jinwoo thought. 

 

"Join my court," Myungjun asked. "Be by my side, and we'll show the fae that humans aren't playthings. That we can live together as equals,"

 

"You're asking a lot of me," Jinwoo gushed. _say no say say no._  

 

"It's a lot," Myungjun nodded. "Far more responsibility than a gardener. That why I will hold no qualms against you if you decline,"

 

Jinwoo's whole body tenses. He should say no. 

 

There's a knock at the door. The servant's voice flowed from the door. Apparently, everyone understood that the prince must not be interrupted when painting.

 

"Your highness," they said. "Your father request you dine with him tonight,"

 

Jinwoo frowned. He doesn't even have dinner with his family?

 

"I'll be there," he said, and then the voice disappears. Myungjun turns back to Jinwoo.  

 

"That'll be enough for today actually," Myungjun said. "I apologise for hounding you like that,"

 

"Can I see?" Jinwoo asked. 

 

Myungjun steps back, and Jinwoo walks over. His jaw drops. The painting was nowhere from being finished, but it was beautiful. He had drawn Jinwoo perfectly, like a photography, all that was left was to paint and he could tell Myungjun was adding details that made it shine. 

 

"Do you like it?" Myungjun asked, taking a step closer. 

 

Jinwoo was suddenly made aware of how close the Prince was behind him. They're practically shoulder to shoulder. His body tenses, the rooms feels a little too warm. He can feel the heat of his cheeks rise again, thankful for fae's night tendencies that hid them. 

 

"Wow," Jinwoo gasped. "It looks like it came straight from a camera,"

 

"Camera?" Myungjun frowned. "What's that?"

 

Jinwoo turned. "You don't know what a camera is?"

 

Myungjun shook his head. 

 

"It's, uh, a device that captures still images,"

 

"Really?" Myungjun gasped lightly. "Humans really created a device for that?"

 

"Yeah," Jinwoo nodded. "It can also capture moving images and sounds as well, and you can rewatch what you've filmed,"

 

"That's fascinating!" Myungjun smiled brightly. "I wonder if we have one of those in the Royal Archives."

 

"No need," Jinwoo said. "They'll probably be old ones from like the 1800s. You'll want a digital camera. I have one,"

 

"Really? How?" Myungjun's innocent looks come through and Jinwoo can't help but laugh. 

 

"Don't worry about that," Jinwoo said. He purchased one a couple of years ago. He had Minhyuk enchant enough leaves to look like human money so he could. In fact, it was one of the few things he had taken from his home to the court. He sneaked a couple of shots around the palace, but he didn't want anyone to find it and have it taken from him. No one really forbade him from using it, but Jinwoo found comfort in owning at least something from his birth world. 

 

It takes another half an hour to leave Myungjun's room. It's like the conversation before disappeared into thin air. The prince badgers him with questions about this 'camera'. It's not until a servant returns to his room, stressing that he come to dinner. 

 

There he says his goodnights, and returns to his room. When he opens his door, he almost swore. 

_At least it isn't Moon Bin_ , Jinwoo thought. 

 

Haknyeon stood by the foot of his bed, throwing a small ball of warn in the air and catching it. 

 

"I didn't see you in the gardens," Jinwoo asked. "I was wondering where you'd gone,"

 

"H-here," Haknyeon stammered, thrusting a piece of paper into Jinwoo's hand. "Be sure to destroy it once you've read it,"

 

He opened the slip and there was a message. 

 

_Go to Healer's Court,_ the note scribbled, _find me something from Lee Seokmin. - Moon Bin._

 

He recalls that morning.  

 

_"I'll call for you later," he said. "There's too many people about,"_

_"How will I know?"_

_Moon Bin grinned. "Oh, you'll know."_

 

"What the hell, Haknyeon?" he turned to face his friend. "You're apart of this too!"

 

"Lower your voice," Haknyeon hushed. "It's a Court of Shadows, not a Court of Noise,"

 

"When? How long?" Jinwoo asked. 

 

"Not now," Haknyeon shook his head. "Moon Bin said I can't say anything until you've completed this,"

 

Before Jinwoo could respond, Haknyeon is gone like the wind. He looks to the note again. And then immediately throws the paper to the kindling fire in his room.

 

Healer's Court. Home to Seokmin and his wife, Jaesi, alongside their two sons. Jinwoo's throat tightened. Their eldest child being... Dongmin. He shakes the possibility of Moon Bin suspecting Dongmin of something. No, it was Dongmin's father, he was investigating, but that doesn't shake the feeling of fear as he'd be spying on the very man who raised a cruel boy. 

 

Jinwoo watched as the paper curls and blackens under the heat of the fire. Slowly, it disintegrates into ashes. He goes to bed with one thing on his mind.

 

Jinwoo had his first assignment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter: zarohawrites
> 
> GUYS THE PICTURES OF ALL LIGHT ARE GORGEOUS AND IT'S BASICALLY HOW I IMAGINE ALL OF THEM IN THIS FIC. IN CASE YALL WANT SOME VISUALS FOR THIS FIC.


	12. who are you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jinwoo's trip to healer's court

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UNEDITED

Jinwoo wakes up in sweats. His dream from the day before lingers. He's back in Myungjun's room staring at his painting. This time, Dream Jinwoo turns around and kisses the Prince. The shock of events forces himself to wake up. 

 

He's the prince, Jinwoo thought, the future high king. Don't be an idiot. 

 

Having been raised around faeries all his life, Jinwoo was constantly gaining crushes on most faeries. They never lasted long. His ability to see beyond the faeries glamour meant what was pretty and soothing soon turned sour and sinister.

 

He'd been incited by faerie glamour before. It was an accident. After his twelfth birthday, he snuck out and ended up in a faerie party without the necessary potions to deflect their magic. Siwoo found him in the river the next evening, dazed and confused, laughing at rocks that someone enchanted to look like dogs. 

 

After that Siwoo rarely left Jinwoo leave the house without proper protection. He'd douse Jinwoo in almost every protection charm he knew even if it was to collect post. 

 

In the courts it wasn't so bad, the outfit Myungjun supplied him was enchanted to reflect almost all magic, but that didn't stop him checking anything thats offered to him, even if Haknyeon offered it. 

 

The sun is rising when Jinwoo changes. The court is silent except for a few stragglers whose drunken giggle echo through the chambers. He wears his own worker's outfit to enter Dongmin's home. It's a boring grey that most external court workers wear. Even though the boy no longer resided in his birth home, having moved into the Royal Court as a teen, Jinwoo trembled at the thought of entering the household he was raised in.  

 

He's sneaks out through the delivery entrance. No one even bats a eye. Huh, Jinwoo thought, this might be easier than I thought. 

 

He's soon eating his own words once he makes it to the Healer's Court where it was swarming with faeries. Jinwoo had forgotten it also doubled up as sort of hospital for the magically inclined. His hands keep scratching his ears. Haknyeon had left a hat to cover his human ears. It was fancy, soft and.... extremely itchy. 

 

No one pays any attention to Jinwoo. The main entrance is busy and there's no one even guarding anything. Jinwoo spots a troll nursing a broken arm with a fae scolding him for returning today with the same thing he came in for last week. There's a human boy standing next to them, dulled eyed with sunken cheeks. He's holding every thing the fae nurse requires, even sharp scissors that were held at an angle that was sure to cut him soon. Jinwoo wasn't sure if the nurse would even bother healing him if it did. 

 

Someone grabs Jinwoo arms. A faerie guard. He stares down at Jinwoo. 

 

"Don't think you can go dawdling," he sneered. Jinwoo frowned. The guard pushes Jinwoo in the direction of the food hall. "Go finish your delivery!"

 

His outfit. Jinwoo internally gives a sigh of relief. "Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!"

 

At least that sorts my way in, Jinwoo thought. He tries to control his pace, not too eager but not too obvious. But it's surprisingly easier to manoeuvre once everyone thinks he's kitchen staff. Someone even gives him an apron. He even snatches a face mask without anyone even turning a head. There's a handful of humans in the kitchen, in their enchanted dazes and lost in work. 

 

The flow of movement is mainly between the food hall and the healer's court. The corridors leading to the residential areas are quieter. So, Jinwoo helps out in the kitchen. Not big jobs, but smaller things that kept him hidden, like brushing around the kitchen, waiting for a moment. Jinwoo wasn't even sure what that moment was. 

 

There's a human boy his age walking towards the residential area. He's preparing a cart filled with a meal obviously meant for tea. He dons his face mask and walks up to the human boy.

 

Jinwoo's a little unsure of what to do. The boy's clearly enchanted to do what's expected of him, magically given orders that he must abide by. So Jinwoo begins to pull the cart, pushing it in the direction of the residential halls. The boy freezes.

 

"I was told to help you bring this," Jinwoo explained, hoping whatever enchantment he was stuck under didn't crack. The boy looks at him.

 

"Really?" his voice is slurred, his cheeks hollow and pale. And he then begins to walk. No resistance was exactly what Jinwoo needed. They walk together down the halls. Jinwoo forces his mind to commit the layout to memory but it's a lot. Multiple rooms with closed door, that even Jinwoo lost count of how many there where. 

 

Suddenly, the boy turns a corner and reaches to open a door, which opens to a study. Large, towering book shelves take up three sides of the walls, a large mahogany table sits in the middles. Books pile up. Some untouched, others were thrown against the table. Nothing looked sinister. 

 

The human boy continues to do his job, not paying any attention to Jinwoo, so Jinwoo sets off to work. He scours the bookshelves, the papers sprawled on the table, searching for anything that might be of use to Moon Bin. No one would be stupid enough to leave important documents lying around, but if your staff are enhanced humans who will never break free of their spells, someone was bound to slip up. 

 

The boy is changing the wood in the fireplace when a voice echoes through the hall. A young boy, his voice is squeaky and bright. Doors are always left often to signify staff in the room, but it doesn't matter to this little boy who comes running into the room like no big deal.

 

"Ha, I told you I could beat you to the study," the boy laughed, taking no notice of Jinwoo and the other boy. Jinwoo turns to face the fireplace, while the staff boy begins to prepare the food on the tray. Probably spelled to begin the second a member of the court entered. 

 

The boy is cute, boyish, with a smile that reminded him of Minhyuk. Whoever he was speaking to enters the room, their footsteps were loud and angry. Jinwoo catches sight of Dongmin entering the room. His head snaps back to face the fire place as he slowly adds more wood to it. He was suddenly thankful for the face mask, even though it was difficult to breath through so close to a fire. Shit, why was he here?

 

"Mother said not to run in the halls!" Dongmin groaned at the boy, mostly likely his younger brother. "Daehan, are you even listening!?"

 

"Well, I'm hungry!" Daehan sits himself down.

 

"Then, eat, and get ready for bed," Dongmin said. "And be quiet, you don't want to bother Father.."

 

"Well, he's busy," Daehan said, and Jinwoo could hear him begin his meal.

 

"For goodness sake, will it kill you to not eat like an animal?"

 

Jinwoo could hear Daehan stick his tongue out, probably with a mouth full of food, that makes Dongmin grimace loudly.

 

"How did I end up with a half-troll for a brother?" Dongmin sighed.

 

"And how did I end up with a stuck up for mine?" Daehan sends back, giggling. There's no cruel hit that comes, no harsh comeback that should send his brother in tears. 

 

One thing Jinwoo realised how how quiet this Dongmin was. Nicer even, if such words could be used for Dongmin. Even his words with his brother were harmless. By now, Dongmin would've probably thrown Jinwoo off a cliff if he'd been in the conversation. He keeps his head down and continues to shovel wood into the fire. 

 

"What time is Binnie coming?" Daehan asked. "Mother said she invited him for breakfast,"

 

"He's not," Dongmin said. "He's busy,"

 

"Why can't he come anymore?" Daehan groans loudly. "I never see him anymore,"

 

"Because we're busy," Dongmin snapped in a much harsher tone. "We're not kids anymore, we have important court duties to attend to,"

 

Jinwoo finishes with the fireplace and moves onto copy the boy he came in with, who was now cleaning the mess of books on the table. Jinwoo slowly picks up a book, and turns to the shelves. Daehan's mumbling something about someone being unfair when another person enters the room. 

 

"Father," Dongmin said. Jinwoo straightens up a bit. The man of the hour. 

 

"I do hope you're not arguing again," Seokmin sighed. "Dongmin, you should know better than that,"

 

"It's nothing," Dongmin said. 

 

"Daehan, finish your meal in another room, please," Seokmin asked. "I have something to discuss with your brother,"

 

"Must we?" Dongmin asked. He sounded bored. "I need to leave soon,"

 

"It won't be long," Seokmin said. 

 

"I'm done, anyway," Daehan said. Jinwoo could hear him leave in seconds. 

 

The door slams shut. There's a lingering silent moment between the father and eldest son. 

 

"What?" Dongmin asked. "You're not even bothered enough to let the staff leave?"

 

Jinwoo isn't even facing Dongmin but the sound of a slap being forced against his face was deafening. Jinwoo tries to hide his wince, but the sound of Seokmin's palm was hard. In the corner of his eye he can see Dongmin staggering against the table. 

 

"At least the staff have enough sense to listen to me, even if they're enchanted to do so," his father snared. "What's this I hear about you joining the tournament?"

 

"Bin suggested it," Dongmin said. His father strikes again. "What good will I be to Myungjun if I can't even protect him?"

 

"You should be focusing on the task on hand, not playing guard" Seokmin raised his voice. "Haven't you found anything yet?"

 

"No," Dongmin said. "But I will,"

 

Jinwoo can feel his stomach drop. He was meant to find dirt on Seokmin, not Dongmin. 

 

"Don't tell me that human boy has got you distracted," Seokmin said. "It's bad enough he's tainting the halls this very moment, I don't want him getting to you too,"

 

"He's not," Dongmin said. "But Myungjun is fascinated by him,"

 

"Of course, he would," he said. "He's exactly like his mother. It's a good thing she passed on early otherwise who knows what she would've filled his mind with,"

 

Jinwoo has to bite his lip so hard, he can almost taste the blood. 

 

"You are keeping a tab on him, right?" Seokmin asked. "He's to be kept to the gardens,"

 

"He is," Dongmin said. Jinwoo's hands are shaking. He almost drops a book. _Whose side are you on, Dongmin?_

 

"Don't disappoint me anymore than you have, Dongmin," Seokmin said. 

 

In few strides, Seokmin is gone out the door, and Dongmin is left standing there. No longer under his father's cowering eyes, his hands reach for his face, then turns to the mirror. He's staring for a long time, maybe trying to assess the damage. He sighs deeply before leaving the room.

 

The servant boy is packing everything up, removing everything Daehan didn't eat into a trash bag, and began to leave the room, unaware of what had occurred in front of him. But even Jinwoo didn't understand what had happened. Dongmin was clearly conspiring something with his father, but he also lied straight to his face. Dongmin was always an enemy in his eyes, but was he now an enemy to Myungjun?

 

_Who are you, Lee Dongmin,_ Jinwoo thought, _and what do you want?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)))))))
> 
> twitter: zarohawrites


	13. an apology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jinwoo reports his findings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UNEDITED
> 
> This is much shorter than I wanted TT But the plot will be kicking off in the next few chapters.

No one gives Jinwoo a second look as he makes his way through the halls and once he's back in the Royal Courts, he quickly swaps his outfits in case anyone asks why he was no longer wearing the Prince's colours.  Jinwoo's in such deep thought, he doesn't realise how quickly he's made it back to Moon Bin's room. The sun would be setting soon, Jinwoo could tell by the increased staff activity, everyone preparing for a new day. 

 

He knocks on the door, and Moon Bin opens. Jinwoo's ready to spill, but then he stopped when he sees Moon Bin's hair. He had dyed it a light pink. Jinwoo was jealous at how well it suited him. The court fae's indulgent lifestyle also included changing style often. Maybe he should invest in changing his colour too. 

 

"What is that hat?" Moon Bin frowned. Jinwoo hadn't even realised it was still on. 

 

Jinwoo removed it, and threw it to Moon Bin. "Here, you have it, it's itchy,"

 

"Thanks?" Moon Bin said. He looked at the hat in confusion. Jinwoo would laugh if he wasn't so stressed. 

 

It's a small relief that Jinwoo can relax. He sighs deeply as he enters the room. The last time he was here, he promised to join the courts. In his initial barge, he hadn't realised how bare the room was. Sure, it was elaborate in velvet and silk, everything a rich colour that Jinwoo knew was expensive. For someone raised here, it looked more like a guest room. Even Jinwoo had drawings Sanha drew for him on his walls. 

 

"You could've warned me that Dongmin was going home," Jinwoo said. "I would've been screwed if I didn't have that hat,"

 

"He was?" Moon Bin's frown deepened, he played with the hat in his hands. "I .. didn't know,"

 

"Anyway, that doesn't matter," Jinwoo said. "And Haknyeon? Fucking hell, Moon Bin, you could've at least told me was involved,"

 

Moon Bin stared, probably thrown off by his human curse words. 

 

"Well, your suspicions were correct, Seokmin is implicated," Jinwoo said. "I overheard him discussing the Prince and it didn't sound good,"

 

"Who was it?" Moon Bin said. "The other person,"

 

He had figured out what to say without implicating Dongmin too much. He didn't want to outright tell Moon Bin that his boyfriend was betraying him just yet. Jinwoo wasn't even sure if he was. 

 

"I don't know," Jinwoo shrugged. "I couldn't see. I was in disguise as a staff under spell. But he's looking for something."

 

"No mention as to what?"

 

Jinwoo shook his head. At least, that was the truth. "He's looking for something and I think it may have something to do with the prince,"

 

"He is one of the main speakers against human freedom," Moon Bin nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's looking for dirt to counteract his human decision."

 

"But that puts him in danger, right?" Jinwoo said. "He sounded like he wanted to seriously hurt Myungjun,"

 

"I've been officially assigned as his personal guard, so I'll be stationed at his door anyway." Moon Bin said. "And you'll be with him inside, anyway. It's not like he'll ever be left alone,"

 

"And Dongmin?"

 

"What about him?" Moon Bin frowned. Shit, Jinwoo thought. Don't make him cast doubt on him yet. 

 

"Where does he fit in all this?" Jinwoo said. 

 

"He's focusing a lot on the tournament, it's in two days," Moon Bin said. "But it's for Myungjun's benefit. He can't qualify for Myungjun's court until he's certified that he can protect him,"

 

"Ok," Jinwoo said. 

 

Moon Bin tilted his head. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

 

"No," Jinwoo said. 

 

"Are you sure?" Moon Bin said.

 

"You can compel me, if you want," Jinwoo offered. _Please, don't,_ Jinwoo thought. 

 

Moon Bin stared, as if he was actually considering using his fae ability to control Jinwoo. Then, he shook his head. "A Court of Shadows is based on mutual trust. I don't want to use that on you,"

 

Jinwoo froze. Maybe it was his lack of sleep catching up to him, but he knew if he didn't talk it out with Moon Bin, it would bubble up too much, he hadn't expected it to come so _mean_. "Oh, so you'll let Dongmin use it on me, but you're too high and mighty to use it yourself,"

 

Jinwoo watches Moon Bin's ear burn red. 

 

"If this a court of trust, then tell me this," Jinwoo glared. "How could you let Dongmin terrorise all these people? Sanha used to go to sleep sobbing because of what you and Dongmin did to him at school,"

 

"If you hate me so much, then why are you here? Why say yes to Myungjun's offer? Or mine even?" Moon Bin said, raising his voice. Moon Bin was a people person, so eager to put his best face forward, but here in his room, he disregarded nicety for cruelty that Jinwoo knew he was capable of. This was a power move, and they both knew it. "Why did you even accept the King's invitation?"

 

Jinwoo could lay down every reason why. His family, his brothers, Myungjun's offer that was too good to accept. He wanted Myungjun on the throne as much as Moon Bin did. 

 

"Remember the end goal, Jinwoo," Moon Bin said, softly. "We make sure Myungjun stays alive to take the throne, and lives a long healthy rule on the throne,"

 

Jinwoo nods. He wants Myungjun on the throne, and he will by his side. 

 

"But I am sorry," Moon Bin said, his face turned red. There's a softness to his voice, true sincerity. The fae pride themselves on having power, and Jinwoo has managed to knock Moon Bin down. 

 

"I should've stopped him," Moon Bin said. "I knew what his family is like, knew what his _father_ was like, yet I did nothing but encourage him,"

 

Jinwoo shuffled in his spot. Vulnerability from a fae was a foreign feeling. But he took comfort in Moon Bin's words, and the fact he was telling the truth. But Moon Bin's emphasis on Seokmin was worrying. 

 

"You know, don't you," Jinwoo asked.

 

Moon Bin sat down, and then put his head in his hands as he released a huge sigh. 

 

"When my family sent me to live in the courts, all I asked was that Dongmin joined me too," He said, quietly. "Ever since we were kids, we were always joined at the hip. I knew if I left him in Seokmin's care, I wouldn't know what will be left of Dongmin,"

 

Jinwoo doesn't say anything. 

 

"I thought I could ...change him," Moon Bin said. "Make him see differently, but I was so blinded by my love for him, I couldn't even see how much others were hurting because of him,"

 

"Hate us all you want, Jinwoo," Moon Bin stood up. "But we need you. You don't realise how important you are in all this,"

 

"How?" Jinwoo choked. "Why am I so important?"

 

"The Fae need to see that Humans aren't bad." Moon Bin said. "And you can do things the rest of us can't."

 

Jinwoo slumps against the desk. What does Moon Bin gain from this? Moon Bin gave him a sympathetic look. "You're free to leave, Jinwoo, remember that."

 

"I know," Jinwoo catches his breath, before releasing it in a quick sigh. But he can't leave. Too many human lives were at stake, and with the growing threat of Seokmin and anyone standing behind him, he couldn't just go home. How could he live normally knowing what he knew? 

 

"But, I wont," Jinwoo said. "Like you said, this is important, and Myungjun's life is at stake,"

 

"Huh," Moon Bin grinned. "He really let you drop formalities already? He must really like you more than I thought,"

 

Now it was Jinwoo's turn to go red. "What does that me--"

 

Suddenly, there was knock on the door. It was light, soft. 

 

Dongmin and— Myungjun enters. Jinwoo's jaw drops, the prince had also changed his hair colour. Gone was the lush brown, now replaced with a white-ish blond colour. 

 

Jinwoo's frozen once again when he catches Dongmin's face. A red mark was lightly forming on his cheek. He had obviously tried to conceal it but Jinwoo could still here, under its rosy tint concealment. 

 

"What are you doing here?" Dongmin said, coldly. Gone was a soft boy who was joking with his younger brother. He didn't even wait for Jinwoo to respond, instead he turns to Moon Bin. "We've come to collect you for breakfast. I had asked the Prince to wait in his room while I get you-"

 

"And I told him I'm not a damsel in distress. I shouldn't have to fear walking around in my own home." Myungjun looked to Dongmin. Jinwoo fidgets. Knowing what he knew, he feels a sudden discomfort having Dongmin so close. "My father might like to keep to his throne room, but I won't be put away like that,"

 

"Ah, Jinwoo, I hadn't seen you yesterday!" Myungjun smiled as he turned to Jinwoo. "Haknyeon said he didn't know where you gone off to? I think the poor boy needed help assembling that swing,"

 

Myungjun's wearing a red doublet, with a silk shirt underneath. And with his new hair colour, he was shining despite the fact the sun had set long ago. Jinwoo's stomach twist in a foreign jump.  _He must really like you more than I thought._ Jinwoo shook the thought from his head. Faeries don't love the way humans did. Jinwoo had to remember that. Faeries lived in pure lust, short, meaningless relations that meant nothing. Myungjun is fascinated by him. With their life span, Jinwoo was something new to Myungjun, something the prince would discard like how everyone else had. 

 

That doesn't stop Jinwoo being drawn to Myungjun. But no matter his thoughts, he will not come undone.  Bad things happen to curious humans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter: zarohawrites
> 
> I may have seen the all light pictures and died at how pretty everyone looked and wanted to have them change their looks for a few chapter LMAO.


	14. moving on

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jinwoo finds a familiar face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UNEDITED  
> my dudes this chapter is long as heck but I need the proper drama to start

Jinwoo doesn’t join the trio for breakfast. He makes a weak excuse which they wholeheartedly accepted. He’s bone-tired, he should return to his room and nap, but his feet take him to the kitchens, where he knew a little friend would be.

Haknyeon is sitting alone, buttering his toast with jam and fruits and shoving it into his mouth. He doesn’t even complain that he’s left his eggs when Jinwoo pulls him away from the kitchen. People stare. Jinwoo doesn’t care.

“The prince requires assistance in his garden,” Jinwoo said. That shuts everyone up and they all return to eat.

Myungjun would still be eating so his room is the best spot to interrogate his friend. Even the guards to his room don’t even look up when Jinwoo walks past. Already bored of him.

“Spill, now.” Jinwoo said. Haknyeon gulps the rest of his food down.

“What’s there to say?” Haknyeon shrugged. “Moon Bin asked for help and I said yes.”

“Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Well, he wasn’t wrong. Runners were all over the Court. Having one in Moon Bin’s pocket would do him good. Jinwoo couldn’t lie his way in all the time, while court runners were meant to be everywhere.

“What if someone asked what you were doing?” Jinwoo asked. “You can’t lie?”

“But I can omit the whole truth,” Haknyeon said. “A task from Moon Bin is the same as saying ‘Hey, I’m doing something super shady on Moon Bin’s behalf’”

Jinwoo sighed. He shouldn’t be upset. He was right.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you,” Haknyeon said.

“It’s fine,” Jinwoo shrugged. “I’m sorry, too. It’s just... this place is holding more secrets than I can keep count of. I didn’t want you to be one of them,”

“What do you mean?”

“Promise you won’t tell Moon Bin,”

That pauses Haknyeon. A promise is powerful, and Faeries seldom make promises.

“I won’t,” Haknyeon nodded.

“Dongmin’s father is looking for information,” Jinwoo explained. “Something to bring down Myungjun’s attempts to abolish human contracts,”

“Seokmin is very vocal for his dislike of free humans,” Haknyeon said. “Everyone knows,”

“But does everyone know he has Dongmin spying on Myungjun for him?”

Haknyeon gasped. “He wouldn’t,”

“I was there at his house,” Jinwoo nodded. “Dongmin says he’s looking but nothing’s come up,”

“No-no, he wouldn’t,” Haknyeon said. “Sure, he hates humans, but he wouldn’t go against Prince Myungjun like this. He would be breaking the oath he made when he sweared loyalty to Prince Myungjun,”

“Oaths can be broken,” Jinwoo said.

“But not a magic oath,” Haknyeon said. “If Dongmin is caught, then the prince would be legally required to execute him for his crimes,”

“Okay, he might not completely be on his father’s side,” Jinwoo shivered. He couldn’t see Myungjun making the call to end a life. “He... told a lie,”

“A lie?”

“Well, not a complete lie,” Jinwoo shrugged. He recalls everything to Haknyeon. It finally dawned on him that technically Dongmin hadn’t lie to his father. He just omitted the whole truth. Jinwoo was working in the gardens. He didn’t say which.

“See, that means he’s still on our side,” Haknyeon said.

“I guess, but I’m not crossing him off that quickly,” Jinwoo said. “Why would he even swear loyalty to a Prince whose beliefs he didn’t believe in,”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Haknyeon rolled his eyes. “God, for a human, you’re a bit thick headed.”

“Ouch,” Jinwoo feigned a shot to his chest.

“Dongmin’s loyalty will forever lie with Moon Bin,” Haknyeon said. “Wherever Moon Bin goes, Dongmin follows, ”

Jinwoo recalls the way Moon Bin apologised for Dongmin’s actions, called him his lover, how he fought to bring Dongmin with him to the Court as a child. Dongmin backed down from his cruel taunts when Moon Bin pressed him. Dongmin agreed to join the tournament because Moon Bin had asked him to. Jinwoo felt a pang of jealously. How nice would it be to have someone care that deeply for you, to love you despite your faults. Perhaps there was a good to Lee Dongmin, that Jinwoo will never see.

“That’s enough,” Jinwoo said. “We should go back to doing our real jobs,”

“I’ll contact you when Moon Bin needs something,” Haknyeon said. “Until then, good luck installing that swing, I did an orc’s job of it.”

Before he could even ask, Haknyeon was gone like the wind. And Jinwoo went to the garden. Haknyeon wasn’t lying. He did do an orc’s job of the swing. it was uneven, too low to push, and just not in the right place. Instead, he starts all over again. He cuts the swing down and restarts all Haknyeon’s hard work. He sands down the splits from a new piece of wood, reties the swing ropes to be even stronger. He doesn’t even realise anyone’s watching him until they speak.

“My brother really does have you working a sweat,” Jiyeon said. “I’m sure the Court Gardens would’ve been less work for you,”

“My lady!” Jinwoo gasped, before bowing before the princess. She laughs at how unsteady it is. “Prince Myungjun isn’t here, he’s having breakfast in the main hall,”

“I know,” She shrugged. Jiyeon is a pretty girl, even her shrugs seems elegant. “I came to see you,”

“Me?”

“You’ve come a long way in a week,” Jiyeon tilted her head. “Far from Siwoo’s farm boy. You’re even wearing my brother’s colours,”

“He’s rather insistent, my lady,”

“He is,” Jiyeon said, looking around at Jinwoo’s handiwork. “Anyway, I’m glad to see my father hadn’t scare you off,”

“It’ll take a lot more to scare me, your highness,”

“I’m aware, Park Jinwoo,” Jiyeon smiled. “I request you visit my halls sometime soon,”

“Your highness?”

“I do rather enjoy your handiwork,” Jiyeon said. “Maybe, we can work something out,”

“Just send the word and I’ll be there, my lady,” Jinwoo said.

“What are you doing?” Myungjun enters the balcony behind Jiyeon. Jinwoo jumps at his quick entrance while Jiyeon doesn’t even bat an eye.

“Must you always be so questioning, my young brother?” Jiyeon rolls her eyes.

“Well, you do a lot to question,” Myungjun said.

“I just came to see if Park Jinwoo is being cared for,” she said.

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Myungjun asked.

“I’m not blind to the actions of your court, little bird,” Jiyeon said. Myungjun stiffened. “The boy has suffered under the hands of Dongmin, and I was merely assessing his wellbeing under your court,”

“He is well,” Myungjun said.

“If you say so,” Jiyeon looked down to Jinwoo. “I must take my leave,”

Jinwoo bowed once more, and then she’s gone. But that doesn’t remove the hint of anger in Myungjun’s face. He tries his best to hide it, but he couldn’t hide his scowl forever.

“What did my sister say?”

“Not much,” Jinwoo said. “She asked me if I would go over to her gardens, I think she likes what I’ve done here,”

“I see,” Myungjun walked down the steps. Was the prince... jealous? Surely, there must be some rivalry since was Myungjun named heir to the throne the second he was born.

“The swing is complete,” Jinwoo said. “Thank God, you didn’t sit down on it when Haknyeon installed it, you would’ve have trouble sitting on a throne for days,”

Jinwoo replaced the wood Haknyeon used, using a longer plank with a back rest. Myungjun sits down on one side.

“You should sit in the middle,” Jinwoo said.

“But then there would be no space for you?” Myungjun patted the spot next to him. “Come,”

Too close, Jinwoo thought. But he sits anyway. He fits perfectly in the remaining space. Jinwoo kicks the ground, causing the swing to move lightly.

“I haven’t used a swing since I was a toddler,” Myungjun laughed lightly. “Haknyeon is more persuasive than a haggler at a market,”

“Don’t be surprised if you see him in here all the time,” Jinwoo said. “I did warn you,”

Myungjun laughed loudly. Jinwoo liked that. But you shouldn’t, the logic in his mind is beating him with a stick.

“I should apologise for that outburst you had to witness,” Myungjun said. “No king would’ve behaved liked that,”

“Siblings can be annoying,” Jinwoo said. “If you call that an outburst, then I don’t know what to call what Sanha does when I irritate him,”

“Tell me more,” he asked, he clearly enjoyed listening to others.

“Well, what do you want to know?”

“Anything and everything, Jinwoo,” Myungjun asked.  
  
“Well, I was ten years old when I entered the Faerie realm,” Jinwoo explained. He was given no anchor so he might as well start from the beginning. “Siwoo and his wife found me crying like a baby and took me in. And I was raised in their household ever since,”

“Is that it?” Myungjun asked. His childhood was probably more exciting than Jinwoo’s. Raised to be a king, there was a stark difference between the two.

“It was hard, I won’t lie,” Jinwoo said. “It’s hard being the only kid who can,”

“You must miss them,”

“I do,” Jinwoo said. “It’s strange not seeing them everyday like I have for the past ten years,

Jinwoo shook his head, remembering who he was speaking to. “Look at me, complaining about my life, when yours must be difficult too,”

“Life is more of breeze for a prince, Jinwoo,” Myungjun said. “You’ve probably worked hard your first year being here than I have in my whole life,”

“You shouldn’t doubt yourself,” Jinwoo said. “Your agriculture laws are commonly accepted. And planning to abolish human contracts must be hard work.”

“It isn’t when it feels like I’m losing,” Myungjun gushed, and then turned silent. He obviously didn’t want to share that, especially not to Jinwoo. His voice turns quieter. “And when you strip that away from me, what’s left?”

Myungjun’s doubts and fear were being laid bare. His heart was set on this, and Jinwoo was grateful. Jinwoo reached out to Myungjun’s hand, which were in a tight ball. His hands soften under his touch.

“You’re still you,” Jinwoo said.

Myungjun looked at Jinwoo thoughtfully. And then smiled.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Maybe it was the trick of the light, but Jinwoo could swear that Myungjun leaned towards him. His mind says no. Jinwoo jumps up from the swing.

“I - should get back to work,”

Myungjun stared, still sitting on the swing, his feet barely reached the ground.

“I think my gardens has had enough work done,” Myungjun said. Jinwoo hadn’t thought so, he hadn’t even touched the mess of nettles at the end of the garden. “Join me today,”

“I don’t think a gardener is supposed to follow the prince around,” Jinwoo said.

“Think of it as a second opinion,” Myungjun rose from the swing. “The tournament is tomorrow, and the travelling participants arrive today,”

Jinwoo knew. He watched the kitchen rush to cook to feed the growing number of people. They decline Jinwoo’s efforts to help. Clearly, they could handle it.

“These people are meant to be a part of my king’s guard,” Myungjun said. “And I’d like a friend to hand.”

“Isn’t Moon Bin going to be there?” Jinwoo asked. “As your guard,”

“Well, a friend that isn’t on duty,” Myungjun said.

Jinwoo should say no, keep his head down in case the King saw him in Myungjun’s colours, doing exactly what he promised not to do.

“Okay,” Jinwoo nodded.

“Thank you,” Myungjun said. “Moon Bin should be waiting at the door,”

And he was. This time suited up like a guard. It was rather terrifying seeing Moon Bin handle a huge silver sword like it was nothing. Even his manner changed. He’s two steps ahead Myungjun at all times and he barely makes a flicker towards Jinwoo. He barks order to guards around him. The Moon Bin he had spoken too was no longer there, here was the boy he was raised to be.

Jinwoo enters a new room. A large hall where multiple people were standing around. He doesn’t see Dongmin anywhere so this must be the newcomers, those who didn’t reside in the royal court. The second Myungjun enters, everyone bows. He raises a hand to make them stand.

“Please, don’t stop on account of me,” Myungjun smiled and spoke with the elegance of a prince like he was. His fears from moments before disappeared before his people. “I’m merely an observer while the Head of Guard prepare you for tomorrow,”

Moon Bin motions for Myungjun to sit to the side. Jinwoo stands on the edge. Everyone resumes to practising swings and dodges. Jinwoo watched in awe. His eye catches the sigh of a young boy who skilfully dodges anything that’s thrown his way. He moves so swiftly.  
Jinwoo even catches Moon Bin staring.

“Good enough?” Jinwoo stood next to him.

“He’s got potential,” Moon Bin motioned to a guard. “Bring him here,”

The guard swiftly walks make their way over to the boy. He taps his shoulder, and he then turns around, removing his helmet. Jinwoo gasped. He curses himself for not recognising him even with a helmet on. Myungjun leans forward to speak to Jinwoo.

“Isn’t that your brother?”

Jinwoo nodded. What was Minhyuk doing here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooOOOOOOOO  
> twitter: zarohawrites


	15. new lead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> minhyuk's upset and jinwoo learns something groundbreaking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMAO WHAT AM I EVEN DOING AT THIS POINT THANKS SO MUCH FOR STICKING AROUND BC I LITERALLY HAVE NO I D E A WHAT IM DOING HERE. 
> 
> UNEDITED.

 

It takes almost everything in Jinwoo not to crush Minhyuk in a hug. It had already been a week and he’s sorely reminded how much he really missed his siblings.

 

“Minhyuk?” Jinwoo stared at him.

 

“Well, then, I have no need to ask who you are,” Moon Bin said, before turning to the other trainees. Minhyuk doesn’t even hide the scowl on his face.

 

Jinwoo grabs Minhyuk, leading him to the archways meant for resting.

 

“What- what are you doing?” Jinwoo asked.

 

“The tournament,” Minhyuk said, plainly.

 

“Well, duh, I know that, Minhyuk,” Jinwoo rolled his eyes. “But why?”

 

“All qualified faeries are invited to join the tournament,” Minhyuk said. “I got mine in the post two months ago,”

 

Minhyuk wasn’t a fighter. Jinwoo knew this. Jinwoo and Sanha would tease and shove to no end. But Minhyuk was always the middle man even until the day he left, assuring Jinwoo that Sanha wasn’t mad at him.

 

“Is this to get back at Dongmin?” Jinwoo asked. “I’ve seen him train, Minhyuk, he’s good,”

 

Not only was he good but he had years of training that stacked the odds in his favour.

 

“So I am,” Minhyuk said. “Jinwoo, I can do this,”

 

“And then what?” Jinwoo said. “Say you rank high? What then? Are you considering joining the King’s Guard?”

 

“Maybe I will,” Minhyk said. “It’ll give me something to do,”

 

“What about the farm?”

 

“That’s not for me, Jinwoo,” Minhyuk sighed. “I have more potential here than I ever did back home,”

 

Jinwoo thinks of Siwoo, their ageing father, will he be okay with another member leaving their household?

 

“Okay, Minhyuk,” Jinwoo said. “But be careful,”

 

“Why?” Minhyuk frowned. “Has something happened?”

 

“No,” Jinwoo lied.

 

“Then, how come you’re wearing the Prince’s colours?” Minhyuk finally got a good look at Jinwoo’s outfit. “You’re not a gardener, any more, are you?”

 

“It’s complicated, Minhyuk,”

 

“I told you not to let them eat you alive,” Minhyuk said, gritting his teeth. Jinwoo stares at him. Angry on Minhyuk was alien to him. “And it seems you’re eating alongside them?!”

 

“It’s not like that--”

 

“You said the next time you see Dongmin or Moon Bin, you said you’d kill them,” Minhyuk said, angrily. “You walked in quite friendly with him,”

 

“Minhyuk, I promise you it’s not like th--”

 

“What good is a promise from you?” Minhyuk spat. Jinwoo took a step back. Moon Bin calls all the trainees back to the centre. Minhyuk saunters off without a second look at Jinwoo. The scowl on his face seems to deepen.

 

“Minhyuk--”

 

“That’s enough,” Minhyuk cuts him off. “Father and Sanha will be here tomorrow for the tournament. I’d like to see how you’ll explain yourself to him,”

 

And he’s gone, hidden within the folds of the trainees inventively listening to Moon Bin’s words. His stomach begins to flips. Sanha. Would it break his heart to see his own brother alongside the boys who tormented him for months? Minhyuk had seen this as betrayal, but he’d hope to find him later to explain.

 

Jinwoo returns to hovering beside Myungjun’s side, ignoring any questions that Myungjun flings at him, reflecting the question to another staff member. After an hour or so, Myungjun is called to a meeting that Jinwoo isn’t allowed to be included in. It must be with the King, so Jinwoo turns away to make his way back to his room. Maybe he could quickly get some sleep because anyone comes looking for him.

 

He feels a sudden way of anger over himself. How easily he is swayed by few words. Is this what Minhyuk was talking about? A week ago, he wouldn’t have even thought about joining a secret court, going undercover to unravel the secrets of people amongst him, having to see his brother’s tormentors everyday, working with them. Jinwoo has changed.

 

As he turns the corner, his room not far, someone grabs him. Jinwoo is slammed against the wall, and the tickle of silver on his throat is undeniable. 

 

"You should watch yourself, human," Someone is snarling into his ear. Their face is hidden by their hood. He's around Jinwoo's height so any possibility of it being a fae is out the window.  "It'd be a shame to lose an eye,"

 

"Stop," Jinwoo gasped. "Let. go. of. me,"

 

"Pathetic," the person said. "You can't even protect yourself. And you think you're suited to protect the Prince? You're practically doing my job,"

 

"Let go of me," Jinwoo gasped.

 

"Shut up," The male voice said. "Or you lose a damn finger,"

 

Jinwoo's hands tightened. 

 

"Or..." He smirked. "Maybe that brother of yours.."

 

"Don't fucking touch him," Jinwoo said. 

 

"You're right," The person laughed. "He'll be embarrassed tomorrow, everyone will."

 

The intruder's grip tightened. Jinwoo's gasps becomes quick and heavy. He could kill him right now and dump Jinwoo's body where no one would find it. If Jinwoo was gone, so would the information that he knew. 

 

All the possible ways Jinwoo could die rush through his mind. The person's grip tighten and he can feel blood leak onto his shirt. The sting deepens and then, suddenly, it's gone. Jinwoo slumps down and falls to his knees, half gasping, half crying, as he tries to collect himself. His sight is blurry, but there's others surrounding him now. 

 

"Take him away," a voice said. Jinwoo raised his head. It was Dongmin thrusting the intruder into the arms of Royal Guards. The intruder.... wasn't fae. Or human as far as Jinwoo could tell. His skin was grey, with lupine ears, and muscular build. He was also snarling at Jinwoo and Dongmin, his lower canines resembled boar tusks. Jinwoo catches the insignia on his hood. Three circles in a triangular design, each circle had a long scratch over them. "Do what you must,"

 

Jinwoo groaned. Dongmin looked down at him. 

 

"Are you okay?" Dongmin reached his hand out to Jinwoo. "Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

 

"I'm fine," Jinwoo ignores Dongmin's helping hand and pushes himself back up. 

 

"You're bleeding," Dongmin points to Jinwoo's throat. Jinwoo's hand reached the area. It stung, and when he pulls back, there's blood on his hand. 

 

"It's a scratch," Jinwoo said. "No cause for concern,"

 

"Are you sure?" Dongmin said. 

 

"Who was that?" Jinwoo asked, ignoring Dongmin's help. 

 

"It doesn't matter," Dongmin said. "He'll be dead before sunrise,"

 

"What- why?" Jinwoo asked. 

 

Dongmin frowned. The men around them began to clear off once the danger was taken care of.  "I see, you don't know about the orcs,"

 

"Orcs?" Jinwoo asked.

 

"Not so loud," Dongmin said, he looked around, checking if the coast was clear. "Come with me,"

 

Jinwoo stares as Dongmin begins to make his way. He's tempted to say no, go back to his room, and change, but he needed answers. He quietly follows Dongmin down the halls until they stop outside a room. Dongmin doesn't even knock, he just pushes the door open as if it's his own room. And it wasn't. 

 

Princess Jiyeon was hovering over a table with large map spread over it. She isn't remotely surprised that Jinwoo was there. 

 

"Well.... I wasn't expecting them to get you here so soon," Jiyeon smirked. "I thought it'd take a lot longer to coax you away from my brother,"

 

"My lady," Jinwoo bowed.

 

"What happened?" Jiyeon frowned, staring at the blood on Jinwoo's shirt.

 

"Orc runner managed to cut him a little before I caught up," Dongmin said, he removes his coat and places it on a hook. "They're getting antsy,"

 

"I'm not surprised," Jiyeon sighed. "A coronation is when we're at our weakest,"

 

Jiyeon turns to Jinwoo and smiles. "Take a seat, Park Jinwoo," Jiyeon motions to the seat across from her. Jinwoo takes it, then she sits down herself. Jinwoo turned, taking a better look at Jiyeon's room. There was no garden like Myungjun. Not even a plant in sight. Just books, upon books, maps lined the walls. She points to the map spread on her table. "Do you know what this is?"

 

Jinwoo nodded. A map of the unseen world. Well, just the continent that located Faerie land. It was long and narrow, the southern areas dominated with the faes, the sea line is half dark matter and on the other side was sea, above separated by rivers were the land of Elves and Goblins. In the northern areas were frozen areas, uncharted lands that were inhospitable. 

 

"Good," Jiyeon said. "Take a look,"

 

Jinwoo peers at the map. Marks were scattered all over. Pencil scribbles in Jiyeon's neat writing. Lacking right protection... not enough soldiers stationed here...aid is required here. 

 

"Myungjun never gained a taste for leadership the way my father had raised him too," Jiyeon said. "He's never really considered our cross-border relations, and what lies beyond the Faerie Veil,"

 

"My lady," Jinwoo looked up. "I don't understand,"

 

"I'm very aware of my brother's plan to remove human contracts," Jiyeon said. "It's a brave action, honorable in my opinion, but I'm here to tell you, it won't work,"

 

Jinwoo's stomach twists. "Why not?"

 

"Because it will kill him," Jiyeon said. "I see the way Moon Bin has you running around the Courts, trust me, Jinwoo, your presence has not gone unnoticed. To me and Dongmin,"

 

Jinwoo turned to look at Dongmin. He stares back with a look of boredom. 

 

"Right now, my brother is in a meeting with our father and other Elven and Goblin official," Jiyeon said. "They're planning a strike in the north,"

 

"Why?" Jinwoo looks at the map, there's dots of red scattered across the icy mountains. "What's in the mountain?"

 

"Orcs," Jiyeon said. Jinwoo froze. "And they're coming down,"

 

"There haven't been Orcs in the south in years," Jinwoo said, repeating years of Fae teachings. Banished to the Northern Mountains after a war many millenniums ago outcasted the losing race. They had made home there, the frozen tundra separated them from the rest of the land, there was no need for them to come down or for fae to even send soldiers up there. 

 

"Then what do you call that thing that attacked you, Jinwoo?" Jiyeon looked at him. Jinwoo looks down in defeat. 

 

"Not, unless something is pushing them out," Jiyeon said, pointing to the red marks on the maps. 

 

“There’s talk of orcs raid in the central lands,” Jiyeon said. Jinwoo's head snapped up. “Goblin soldiers have already reported four instances of them,”

 

“It is the same in the mountains,” Dongmin added. 

 

"What's pushing them out?" Jinwoo asked.

 

"Dragons,"

 

Jinwoo stopped and stared at Jiyeon. "You're kidding? "

 

Jiyeon shook her head. "I wish I was,"

 

“But they’re extinct,” Jinwoo said. “Fae records show clear extinction--”

 

“You are correct,” Jiyeon said. “But there were rumours eggs laid hidden within the mountains of the north, frozen by the cold,”

 

“And you’re suggesting that over 10,000 years later, they’re defrosting?” Jinwoo asked. This is ridiculous. 

 

"It explains why the orcs are abandoning their homes in the mountain, those brainless bunch know nothing but trouble,” Dongmin speaks up again. 

 

“But untamed dragons would be chaos,” Jinwoo gasped. 

 

“Which is why my father has gathered a Council meeting today,” Jiyeon explained. “To plan a draft to send soldiers to the mountain borders,”

 

Jinwoo turned his head in hopes to getting answers. Jinwoo sighed quietly in frustration. Damn, the fae and their inability to say things outright. 

 

“And with that being said,” Jiyeon said. “The Court of Faeries will offer any able-bodied individuals that are needed to control the beasts,”

 

It appears to not hit Jinwoo yet, Jiyeon rolls her eyes, and stares at him. 

 

"Jinwoo, they're sending humans," Dongmin said. "The draft will include humans,"

 

Jinwoo gasped. They couldn’t. They possibly couldn’t send humans to the border. “That's not fair!”

 

Jiyeon shrugged. "Unfortunately, there's little to be done. Humans are tied to the household they work for. Therefore, they're in charge of to do with the humans that are under them,"

 

Jinwoo thought to just hours before. Myungjun reveals he's losing. Is this why? 

 

"But I thought the King had agreed to Myungjun's plan," Jinwoo stammered. 

 

"My father wants Myungjun on the throne," Jiyeon snapped. "Of course, he'll agree to the one thing that will make Myungjun take the throne when he comes down, however the response it will receive from the people,"

 

Her voice was harsh and mean. Myungjun was named heir at birth, by Hongbin's decree, Jiyeon was six years older, and her claim to the throne was snatched in front of her very eyes. They probably stopped teaching her the ways of a Queen and taught her the standard education most Royals received. Jinwoo would be upset too. 

 

"Why are you telling me this?" Jinwoo gulped. 

 

"Faeries nowadays pay little attention the history of our ancestors," Jiyeon sighed. "I found this in one of our archives,"

 

Jiyeon pulls out a sheet from one of her many books. It's a older, fading painting. But the image is clear as day. Dragons, but what caught Jinwoo's eye were the people standing beside them. A fae, a goblin, an elf, and then...

 

"A human," Jiyeon said. Jinwoo looked up from the paper. "Years and years ago, our ancestors selected skilled people across the lands, and tasked them with the duty to pilot the dragons."

 

"This... doesn't make sense," Jinwoo frowned. "Historically, humans were introduced to the Unseen world only a few centuries ago, this image suggest--"

 

"That humans resided long in our than what you've been taught to believe," Jiyeon nodded. 

 

"But that works in Myungjun's favour!" Jinwoo said. Jiyeon cringes at the mention of her brother. "Human contracts were introduced as punishment for the actions of those from a few century ago. This shows everyone had once worked together!"

 

"And it still won't work," Jiyeon said, snatching the picture from Jinwoo "You free the humans, you lose the needed manpower needed to fight the orcs,"

 

"Not everyone though," Jinwoo said. Sure, there were loads of humans under compulsion, but there was also a large number of humans who had made their home here. Homes they wouldn't readily give up for life for a world they didn't remember anymore. Homes they would fight for. But what about those who were tricked here, contracted to stay until their very last breath. They would be forced to fight wars they have no choice to join. 

 

"Why do you need the dragons?" Jinwoo asked. "Beasts with wildfire rarely have peaceful use,"

 

"You grew up near Dark Matter, Jinwoo," Jiyeon said. "You should know best,"

 

As matter of fact, Jinwoo didn't know much of the dark areas beyond his farm. It was gated off, drenched in fae magic, to stop any of the dark substance from encroaching into their farm area. Suddenly, it was as if all the limited education he received came rolling back to him. Dark Matter was the result of uncontrolled magic, unsullied magic, that can't be controlled. The fae had managed to push it all to the ends of their world, cut off by their gates. There, in the back of his mind, he remembers his old tutors words. 

 

_"You see, dark matter is only destroyed by pure dragon's fire," he tutted under his breath, as the rest of the class dozed off. "And dragons haven't been seen in years,"_

 

Getting rid of Dark Matter could recover loss of land, homes that were taken, return history that was engulfed by the tainted substance. Or destroy anything at will. A powerful move for anyone who wanted control. They just needed to be claimed first. 

 

"And you want me to be one of these riders?" Jinwoo frowned, everything slowly joins together in his mind. "When does this draft go into place?" 

 

"Dongmin guesses it'll be announced tomorrow," Jiyeon said. "After the tournament,"

 

Dongmin is silent in the corner, his eyes graze over the room, watching as Jinwoo slowly takes in this information. 

 

"I'm confused," Jinwoo said, he almost didn't want to say that out loud, but it was unsettling him. 

 

"About what?" Jiyeon asked. 

 

_Everything,_ he wanted to say, _how did everything in his life lead him to this very moment._  But then Jinwoo turns to Dongmin. "What part do you play here, Dongmin?"

 

Dongmin freezes, his reactions suggests he wasn't expecting to be called out like this.

 

"It's complicated," Dongmin said. 

 

"Then, explain," Jinwoo stared at him, gritting his teeth. "Because I don't get the game you're playing here,"

 

"I'll leave you to explain," Jiyeon nodded. "Apparently, there's a lot Dongmin hasn't told you,"

 

Jinwoo doesn't say anything. Jiyeon ascends a flight of stairs which probably lead to a study of some sort. 

 

"You have questions, I assume," Dongmin started.

 

"Yeah, no, shit," Jinwoo said. "And you better start talking,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tldr: zaroha really likes dragons and managed to pummel them into this fic fjdkjdkdd
> 
> also, next chapter will be shorter bc it'll just be a dialogue between jinwoo and dongmin. but i hope to make dongmin a more understanding character in the next one.


	16. dongmin's reason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dongmin sort of explains himself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited as always. 
> 
> I also wanted to mention that liar, liar hit 1k hits!!! That's amazing and I'm so thankful so many people have read this little fic of mine! I apologise if I don't respond to all comments (I'm rly shy sORRY) but please know I am enterally grateful for the all the love this fic has received.

Jinwoo watches Dongmin closely. He had this flair about him that made him look like everything around him didn't bother him. And it pissed him off. 

 

"You have ten minutes to explain yourself," Jinwoo said. 

 

"The princess asked me for my assistance," Dongmin said. "She found me one day in the library while I was reading some old text,"

 

“Why you?”

 

Dongmin pretended to not look offended.

 

“I may not have my father’s penchant for medicine nor Bin’s greatness in combat,” he sighed. “My skills lies with knowledge in history, especially translating old Fae text,”

 

“And what has she offered you?”

 

“Dragons returning is a huge milestone in its own right,” Dongmin shrugged. “I’d like to be a part of that,”

 

"But you not a part of Myungjun's court?" Jinwoo asked. 

 

"I am," Dongmin nodded. 

 

"Then why work with the princess?"

 

"Jiyeon doesn't want the crown," he said.

 

Jinwoo bites back that having control of _literal_ dragons was a huge power move. She could force Myungjun off the throne if she could burnt it all down in seconds.

 

“But what about—” Jinwoo started but then went quiet. Dongmin hadn’t know he was in the room that night.

 

“My father?” Dongmin sneered. Jinwoo gasped. “Oh, don’t hold back, I knew you were in the room that night,”

 

“How-”

 

“Do you think a cap and a staff mask can hide you?” Dongmin laughed. “Be lucky that my father didn’t catch your wandering eyes. I would practise looking like a dull human more often if you’re going to pull a stunt like that again,”

 

“Noted,” Jinwoo snapped. “But what does your father want?”

 

“My idiotic father is pretentious as he is irritating,” he said. “He’s simply looking for something to bring Myungjun’s order down,”

 

Jinwoo remembers all those human working in his court.

 

“The only lead my father has, if you can call it that, is Myungjun’s nightly medicine,” Dongmin said.

 

“Medicine?”

 

“Myungjun was born weakly, his mother struggled a lot with his birth,” Dongmin said. “It’s medicine that helps him keep his strength,”

 

“I didn’t know that,” Jinwoo said.

 

“Well, he’s rather embarrassed by it,” Dongmin said. “He keeps it hidden to protect his image. Only his personal Healer is aware of it. Bin and I discovered it by accident,”

 

“So you let your father follow a dead-end?”

 

Dongmin shrugged. “It keeps him busy,”

 

“But why are _you_ doing this?” Jinwoo asked. “Don’t you believe humans should be locked away in contract? How _we don’t deserve to be free_?”

 

Dongmin straightened up. “I apologise for that moment of anger,”

 

“I just don’t _understand_ you,” Jinwoo said in frustration. “You degrade me on a daily basis, slander humans whenever you get the chance, but you’re fine joining Myungjun’s court despite him standing for everything you’re against. And even then you aren’t loyal,”

 

“I do what’s best for the Faerie world, _my world_ ,” Dongmin emphasised. His gaze grew darker, “Don’t you dare talk to me about loyalty. What does a human know about that?”

 

“Oh, please. You’ll withhold your family’s generational distain for humans on hold, and for what? Dragons?” Jinwoo said. “Can’t you see how I can’t trust you?”

 

“I am aware,” Dongmin said. “But this changes everything,”

 

“Oh, so I have a use to you, that’s it,” Jinwoo frowned.

 

“Yes,” Dongmin said, bluntly. Jinwoo mentally swears in his mind. This asshole.

 

“So, say I agree to be this... dragon rider.” Jinwoo said. “Why don’t you tell Moon Bin?”

 

“Why didn’t you tell him about me?” he said. “I know you didn’t mention me when you reported back,”

 

“I-” Jinwoo was stumped. He was right. He had the opportunity to snake him out. “I wasn’t going to accuse you of something without the proper evidence, and that wouldn’t be fair to Moon Bin,”

 

“Thank you,” Dongmin said, much quieter. “I know it must’ve be hard. I hate hiding stuff from him,”

 

“Then why do it?”

 

“Moon Bin is constantly on guard mode,” Dongmin said. “If I told him, he’d have no choice but to tell Myungjun. It would eat at his conscious if he didn’t,”

 

Jinwoo nodded, remembering what Haknyeon had said. Dongmin’s loyalty lied with Moon Bin but Moon Bin clearly cared for all his friends.

 

“I agreed to Jiyeon’s plan because it protects them all,” Dongmin said. “I hope you can see that,”

 

“Why doesn’t she just tell Myungjun?”

 

“Myungjun dotes on his father, a lot,” Dongmin said. “You’re very aware of his crueller tendencies but Myungjun honestly sees the good in everyone,”

 

“He’ll tell his father,” Jinwoo said. Dongmin nodded.

 

“The King is a cunning man, Jinwoo,” Dongmin said. “But he’s also selfish. He’ll want the dragons to be under the fae’s control only, and a dragon’s greed is uncontrollable. The books we found show that there must be unity to control them,”

 

“She doesn’t want to risk it,” Jinwoo said. Dongmin nodded again.

 

“She has spent years researching,” Dongmin said. “She won’t let anyone take it away.”

 

Jinwoo slumps down on his chair, and places his hand in his face. He sighed. How many more people did he have to lie to?

 

“I know it’s a lot, Jinwoo,” Dongmin said. “But can you really pass this up?”

 

Dongmin was right. He would be lying if he didn’t say Dragons interested him. But at the same time, _dragons_. Fire-breathing animals that could kill him.

 

“What do I need to do?” Jinwoo asked.

 

“You’ll be expected to train, of course,” Dongmin said. “You should probably agree to Myungjun’s offer to join his court. It’ll be the only way I can train you without looking suspicious,”

 

Jinwoo rolled his eyes. “Great, let’s give the King even more reason to have my head on a stick.”

 

“With everything you’re doing, it’s the tamest thing he can punish you for,”

 

Jinwoo stared at him. “I still hate you, you know,”

 

 “I know.” Dongmin shrugged. “But Myungjun doesn’t,”

 

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t tell me you’re clueless too?” Dongmin sniggered. “I don’t think I’ve seen him so infatuated before,”

 

Jinwoo blushed. “It’s like you said to your father, he’s fascinated,”

 

Dongmin stared, before rolling his eyes. “Anyway, you should probably get going. You’ve been gone too long. Someone is bound to realise you’re missing,”

 

“The princess…” Jinwoo looked to the door. “I should say goodbye,”

 

“I’ll inform her of your choice,” Dongmin waved him away. “Change your clothes before someone realises,”

 

The cut on his neck has crusted over now, the blood stop not long after. But Jinwoo’s shirt was still stained at the neck. If he kept his head down, no one would be the wiser. He leaves quietly, managing to escape Jiyeon’s halls moments before a gaggle of younger faeries went tumbling down the halls. He hurries down the halls and speeds up as he reaches his room. He rushes in and slams the door shut.

 

“What happened to you?” a voice said, and Jinwoo almost jumps from his body. He had to put a bloody lock on this door. He turned to see Myungjun standing in the middle of his room. His head turned away from images on his wall. His eyes locked at the bloody mess on Jinwoo’s neck.

 

“Jinwoo!” Myungjun gasped. He quickly walked over and reached for Jinwoo’s neck. He felt his neck go warm. “Who did this to you?”

 

“It’s nothing,” Jinwoo said. “I accidentally cut myself in the kitchen,”

 

“On your neck?!”

 

“I’m clumsy,” Jinwoo said.

 

“I wasn’t born yesterday, Jinwoo,” Myungjun frowned. “ _Who_ did this?”

 

“No one!”

 

Myungjun looked at him, and then gasped. “We were informed of an Orc spy in the meeting today. They said they captured them, but they didn’t mention someone was hurt,”

 

Oh, Jinwoo thought, I guess that shows how much a human life mattered to them.

 

“Don’t lie to me, Jinwoo, please, ” Myungjun said. “We’ll have you moved closer to my room,”

 

“Wait, what?” Jinwoo said. “My room’s fine,”

 

“There’s more guards in my halls,” Myungjun said. “ _This_ won’t happen again, I swear,”

 

“I’m fine,” Jinwoo said. “You don’t need to do this,”

 

“ _Please_ , Jinwoo,”

 

Myungjun was still holding onto Jinwoo, refusing to let go. They were too close.

 

“Forgive me, I know I haven’t been clear with my intentions with you,” Myungjun whispered closely.

 

“You want me to join your court,” Jinwoo said, breathlessly. “I understand that,”

 

“But what if I want _more_?”

 

And that knocks Jinwoo out. More, he thought, he wanted more. He recalls the swing, Dongmin’s sneers about Jinwoo’s cluelessness, and Moon Bin’s grin and _he must really like you more than I thought._ He had assumed it was just his mind, but this was real. Myungjun really wanted _him_.

Jinwoo takes a step back, letting Myungjun’s arms fall from him.

 

“Jinwoo?” Myungjun frowned, before his cheeks turn bright red.

 

“No- it’s just…” Jinwoo started. “I don’t know.”

 

“Oh, I shouldn’t have said that.” Myungjun said, clearly shocked at his actions.

 

“No, it’s okay,” Jinwoo stammered. “But I just- don’t know,”

 

Jinwoo sighed, and looked at Myungjun. Myungjun looks crushed, and it hurts Jinwoo to even look at him.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You’re to be crowned King any day now,” Jinwoo said.

 

“And?”

 

Jinwoo sighed again. What would the people think? Their future king showing romantic interest in a human? “Forgive me for asking this, but where can this go?”

 

“Anywhere we’d like,” Myungjun said. “I would like to know you better, Jinwoo.”

 

“Your father?”

 

“He doesn’t need to know.. yet,” Myungjun said. He shuffled, looking down at his feet.

 

Jinwoo sat down on his bed, and really took in the past week.

 

“Jinwoo, what’s wrong?” Myungjun asked, sensing something else wasn’t quite right. Everything, Jinwoo thought. But he couldn’t exactly spill _everything_ to him.

 

“Minhyuk,” Jinwoo sighed.

“You did look distressed earlier,” Myungjun said. “What happened?”

 

“He thinks I’m betraying him,” Jinwoo said, glad the topic of conversation was moving but it was bound to return back. “He wasn’t exactly happy to see me with Moon Bin earlier,”

 

“If you’d like, I can speak to him,” Myungjun offered. Jinwoo smiled.

 

“Thank you, but I think this is something I have to do myself,” Jinwoo said.

 

“I’m sure he’ll come around,” Myungjun nodded. “Family always come around,”

 

There’s a knock at the door. Jinwoo rushes to his feet. Haknyeon strolls in, blissfully unaware of the conversation that happened in the room.

 

“Oh! Your Highness,” Haknyeon said. “There’s a load of staff officials running around looking for you,”

 

“You snuck away?” Jinwoo gasped.

 

“I have my ways, Jinwoo.” Myungjun tapped his nose, as he made his way to the door. “I’ll talk to you later,”

 

“What does that mean?” Haknyeon said, as the door shut behind Myungjun.

 

“Nothing,” Jinwoo shook his head, smiling to himself, remembering his first meeting with the prince. He had hardly got a word in that day. “What do you need?”

 

“No mission from Moon Bin today, my friend,” Haknyeon grinned. “I’m thinking of changing my hair colour and I was wondering if you wanted to change yours too,”

 

Jinwoo thought of Moon Bin’s bright pink hair, Myungjun’s new blond locks. “Would it be okay? We’re staff,”

 

“As long as we do our jobs,” Haknyeon said. “They don’t care,”

 

Jinwoo pulls at his own hair, it had been black for years, except for days where he let Sanha test his skills by temporarily changing it. It did leave an accident where Jinwoo had to work for a week with bright green hair.

 

“I guess I could do with something new,”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *RUNS AWAY*
> 
> also, dongmin caring more about dragons than anything else is a Mood. 
> 
> twitter: zarohawrites


	17. a sudden attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a lot.. happens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much happens in this chapter in such a short space. But I'm finally on track from where I lost my original plan and things should be going more smoothly when I write these chapter now lmao

"Jeez, when I said we should change colours I didn't mean that drastic," Haknyeon said, watching as Jinwoo checked out his new hair colour. Pink, not bright like Moon Bin, but with a more peach-orange tint. Haknyeon had been called away just as it was Jinwoo's turn to have his hair done. Haknyeon skipped away with his lighter brown colour, but he hadn't expected Jinwoo to go so far.

 

"Go hard or go home, Haknyeon," Jinwoo said.

 

"I don't understand your human phrases," Haknyeon said.

 

Jinwoo laughed. "Nevermind,"

 

"When's Sanha coming?" Haknyeon said. "I feel like I need to meet my other half,"

 

Jinwoo grimaced slightly. He was excited to see his family after a while. But he remembered Minhyuk's anger. And then he remembered how upset Sanha had been when he left. Hopefully, he had some resemblance of a family to return to 

 

"Not too sure. I think we'll find them before the tournament,"

 

"I think they'll find you first, judging by your outfit," Haknyeon said, his eyes scanning Jinwoo's outfit. "He really doesn't care what his father will think,"

 

Jinwoo stared at his outfit in the mirror. A runner had dropped off the package when he woke up. Myungjun was getting brave. He hadn't intended to wear his colour, especially since he'd be in view of the King. But like Dongmin had said, the King was probably already aware and what he did now probably didn't matter. Another maroon tunic but this time with brown pants. The fabric was plush and comfortable. Traditional court clothes, Jinwoo thought, Myungjun is making a point. 

 

Jinwoo shouldn't wear it, but he'd hate to even think of the look of disappointment that would come across on Myungjun's face if he didn't. So he walks side by side with Haknyeon to the tournament.

 

It happens every year. A new crop of trainees fought to test their strengths and those who did well were often admitted to the Army. A crowd was already gathering and it was no where near from starting. There's a tented area for royals. Myungjun is sitting quietly on his carved seat, attendants surrounding him. Jiyeon sits beside him, her eyes are sprawled on all the trainees who were milling out. A wave of fear flooded through him. Was she looking for guards of her own? Please don't look at Minhyuk, he thought. 

 

Before he can even catch Myungjun's eyes, a kitchen staff calls over Haknyeon. 

 

"Oh, not you, Jinwoo," the boy laughed. "You're not one of us anymore,"

 

"I have still have two hands that can help," Jinwoo shrugged, and he helped get to work. Jinwoo's helping to give trainees drinks and pass snacks around when he feels a tug on his hair behind him.

 

"We leave you alone for a week and this is what happens?" Sanha said, he's laughing, smiling so brightly that Jinwoo could cry. He engulfs him in the hug he wished he had given Minhyuk. Their father soon caught up to them, and Jinwoo greeted him. 

 

"I suppose that is something for suitable for the court," Siwoo frowned, before turning to Sanha. "Don't even think about it,"

 

"What!" Sanha laughed. "Oh, please, I won't go too wild!"

 

"I'll think about it," Siwoo laughed. "Ah- Jinwoo, is this your friend?"

 

Jinwoo jumped. He hadn't realised that Haknyeon had rushed back to his side. 

 

"Hello! You must be Jinwoo's father!" Haknyeon laughed. 

 

"This is Haknyeon," Jinwoo said. "Father, he works as a runner and Sanha, he's basically a less annoying version of you,"

 

"Hey!" Haknyeon and Sanha said simultaneously. 

 

"Oh, go talk to each other for a second and you'll see what I mean," Jinwoo waved the two off.

 

They fall into a playful banter that Jinwoo knew would happen, while he's left alone with Siwoo.

 

"Your outfit, Jinwoo...." Siwoo said.

 

"I'm sorry, I know you sent me to work for their garden-"

 

"Don't be, Jinwoo, I'm proud you're working well," 

 

Jinwoo looked down at his feet. "A lot has happened,"

 

"I can only guess," Siwoo said, before lowering his voice. "You know I always appreciated you sticking together with Minhyuk and Sanha, but I do wish you could've told me about Sanha's situation,"

 

Jinwoo looked back up. "About Dongmin?"

 

Siwoo nodded. "He found us as we were entering. He apologised to Sanha and to me as well,"

 

"Apologise?" Jinwoo frowned. 

 

"He wanted to apologise for his negative behaviour towards Sanha, he said," Siwoo said, shrugging. "It was nice of him to apologise,"

 

A step forward I guess, Jinwoo thought, a move to make Jinwoo like him a little better. It work a little as it explained why Sanha was happier than he'd expected. Maybe Minhyuk was the only one with a grudge. 

 

"Next time, if you boys are struggling, let me know," Siwoo sighed. "The boys are already talking to me less, I don't want that to happen to you, too,"

 

Jinwoo wanted to ask why, but instead he hugged his father. 

 

"I'm grateful for you," Jinwoo said, his words muffled into his father's shoulder. "No one would've done what you did," 

 

Raising two faerie boys on his own was hard enough, adding a fallen human boy to the mix must've been hectic. He barely even got to mourn his wife's death, instead he fell into work into supporting his family.

 

"Anyway, we should go find Sanha and Haknyeon," Siwoo said, breaking away from the hug first, hiding his quiet sniffles. "If he's really a second Sanha then we won't have long before someone makes a noise complaint,"

 

They find the two entertaining some of the younger faeries of the court. Sanha is pretending to splash Haknyeon with water, while Hankyeon is doing something Jinwoo couldn't even describe. But the kids loved it. Their laughs could be heard for miles.

 

"Park Jinwoo?" a voice said. Siwoo and Jinwoo both turned around to see a runner standing by. "Prince Myungjun asked if you'd like to join him,"

 

"Really?" Jinwoo asked. 

 

"He says if you wish to sit with your family, that's fine," the runner said.

 

"He'll go," Siwoo said, pressing Jinwoo in the runner's direction. Jinwoo started to speak, but Siwoo cut him off. "He's the Prince, for goodness sake, you shouldn't say no,"

 

Jinwoo knew Siwoo would die if he realised he was inadvertently giving Myungjun what he wanted. He follows the runner quietly as he's led back to the tent where, thankfully, the King hadn't arrived yet. Myungjun smiled, calling Jinwoo over. Moon Bin was now positioned to his side. 

 

"I like it!" Myungjun laughed, nodding at his hair. "It's very... adventurous,"

 

"You know if you wanted my colour," Moon Bin said, raising his eyebrows. "All you had to do what ask,"

 

"As if, Binnie," Jinwoo laughed. "Peach is my favourite colour,"

 

"You found your family well, I hope," Myungjun asked. Jinwoo nodded. "Good, I did see Haknyeon run by with a tall boy, that was ... Sanha, right?"

 

"Oh, God," Jinwoo gasped. "I hope they didn't bother you,"

 

Jiyeon laughed from the side. "Oh, please, they're having more fun than everyone in this tent combined,"

 

"Jiyeon..." Myungjun warned.

 

"Oh, don't worry, little bird," Jiyeon waved him off. "I'll behave,"

 

There's a chilling silence between the two. Myungjun certainly wasn't happy with Jiyeon calling him little bird. Jinwoo was about to say something when the trumpets finally blew. 

 

"Wait, isn't the King going to be here?" Jinwoo asked. 

 

"I'll be standing in my father's place today," Myungjun said. "He... wasn't feeling well,"

 

No one says anything else about the matter. Jinwoo is grateful to have escaped the King's glare once again. Myungjun greets the crowd, who are much lively, after his cheerful introduction. He wishes the contestants good luck and reminds them to enjoy themselves. This is still a celebration of them.

 

Minhyuk is one of the first groups to go. He's wearing a training outfit with a yellow armband. Newcomer. Still in training. The tournament will go all day with breaks for refreshments. The newbies will go first, assuming they all fail to make it past the first rounds. 

 

All eyes are on the trainees but Jinwoo can't help but notice the few eyes which are staring at him. He's much more noticeable, being human, but now he was standing by Myungjun. He does not give them the satisfaction by looking uncomfortable so he looks at his brother. 

 

The group salute Myungjun in lieu of the King's absence. Someone is rattling of the rules. A mock war, a scale out version of a childhood game called Faes and Orcs. Each team had to protect their emblem, while also knocking out their opponents. Those on the Orc team had to wear a brown cloth around their necks. Jinwoo watches Minhyuk intently, whose eyes are on his family in the crowd before turning to Jinwoo. He's emotionless when his eyes fall on Jinwoo. And then he fights. 

 

All throughout the game, Minhyuk fights well. He's more of the defensive side, avoiding harsher hits much quicker than his teammates. 

 

"He's rather fluid, isn't he?" Myungjun said, watching intently. 

 

"He's been taking dance lessons since he could walk," Jinwoo said, his teeth chattering. 

 

Once the numbers begin to dwindle, Jinwoo almost gasps at how he switches up his tactics. He plays more harder, viciously, meaner. His shoulder bang against everyone and never gives up on his attacks. Minhyuk and two others are the only ones who make it through to the next round, where they'll be mixed into the higher ranking trainees. There's a ten minute break to allow them to retrieve better gear. Jinwoo catches Minhyuk grinning as he receives a new arm band. 

 

Myungjun excuses himself to greet some council staffs who gathered at the tent's entrance. Moon Bin doesn't move as he's still in view.  

 

"He's good," Moon Bin said, from his corner. He's barely watching the match, focusing on watching the prince, but even he can't help but watch Minhyuk. Jinwoo stares at Moon Bin intently. He wants his brother to succeed but not too well that pushes his further away from Jinwoo. Minhyuk might want in, but Jinwoo couldn't risk having his brother in the fallout that might happen.

 

"Are you all right?" Moon Bin asked. 

 

Jiyeon is barely looking at them, but Jinwoo could feel her gaze. 

 

I am not, he thought, but you can't know that.

 

"I'm fine,"

 

Silence. 

 

"Dongmin apologised to Sanha," Jinwoo said. "I guess he'll be backing off for good,"

 

"That's good," Moon Bin nodded, smiling. 

 

Jiyeon gets bored and leaves the tent. She smiles at Jinwoo that feels a little off. Her servants trail behind her, fixing her dress and hair as she leaves. 

 

""She won't be back," Moon Bin rolled his eyes. "She lasted longer than last year,"

 

"Doesn't she care for this?" Jinwoo asked.

 

"She isn't our next leader," Moon Bin said. "Why would she care? Once Myungjun is king, she'll probably still be loitering around the courts not doing anything,"

 

The princess he saw in her room yesterday would've engulfed an event like this. Maybe it was a front. Pretending not to care when she was clearly skilled. Jinwoo was impressed. She was good liar for a Fae.

 

"Yesterday, Moon Bin...." Jinwoo started, not sure how to approach Myungjun's confession. 

 

"He confessed, didn't he?" Moon Bin asked, and then quickly bursts into laughter at Jinwoo's shocked face. 

 

"It's not funny!" Jinwoo said.

 

"Well, what did you say?" Moon Bin stifled his laughter. 

 

"Well, Haknyeon interrupted us, but I told him I'm not sure," Jinwoo said. "The Soon-to-be King and one of his own court member?"

 

"The fae are free people," Moon Bin said. "Even the King has had concubines for himself after the Queen passed away,"

 

"I don't want to be that," Jinwoo said. "And I don't think I have time to be in a relationship with someone I'm also spying on for,"

 

"So what I'm hearing is a maybe?" Moon Bin grinned. 

 

"I really hate you, you know that," Jinwoo said. 

 

"Suit yourself, then," Moon Bin shrugged, laughing at Jinwoo's frustration. "I assume you've sorted it out,"

 

"Well, not really," Jinwoo said. "I haven't spoken to him since now,"

 

"You're both adults," Moon Bin said. "You'll be fine,"

 

"About what?" Myungjun asked as he sat back down. 

 

"Nothing," Jinwoo said. 

 

"Minhyuk is rather good, don't you think, Moon Bin?" Myungjun said. "He reminds me of you when you were younger,"

 

"I wouldn't say that..."

 

"You're right," Myungjun turned to Jinwoo. "Moon Bin used to make bets with the other trainees that he could beat them, and he did."

 

"You weren't complaining when I bought us sweets from the market with my winnings," Moon Bin laughed. 

 

The rest of the tournament goes by in a blur. Minhyuk's ranking rises and rises, much to Jinwoo's surprise. He rarely sees him as the activity swap in and out. Dongmin too also disappeared, much to Moon Bin's dismay. Jinwoo had noticed the boy peering every so often looking for him. They finally form into single combat. They're randomly assigned partners. Minhyuk pulls out a red slip of paper from the bowl. And await to find his partner. 

 

"No way," Moon Bin said. 

 

"What's wrong?" Jinwoo asked.

 

"Dongmin,"

 

Jinwoo peered forward and saw that Dongmin had also pulled out a red slip of paper. His sight quickly sets on Minhyuk. He walks up to him and shakes his hand. Minhyuk's frowning, but accepts it anyway.

 

"He doesn't look happy," Moon Bin said. 

 

"He's probably been waiting to do this for months now," Jinwoo sighed. "I just hope he doesn't hurt himself too much,"

 

The pairs split off until they're called. But barely any of them make it off the field when the alarms go off. It's an insistent, shrilling noise that sends Moon Bin into a panic.

 

"Get up," Moon Bin said, dragging Myungjun from his seat, not even caring how roughly he was treating him. "And stay close,"

 

Myungjun follows instantly, but Jinwoo takes a while to even get up from his seat. 

 

"Jinwoo, hurry up!" Moon Bin snapped. He doesn't mean it, but the panic is clear in his face.

 

"What does that mean?"

 

"Anything," Moon Bin said. "But some thing is wrong and I have to get Myungjun somewhere safe,"

 

Moon Bin grabs someones cloak that was left hanging, and throws it on Myungjun. His blond hair and sparkling clothes are instantly covered by the cloth. 

 

"Jinwoo, I need you to watch behind us," Moon Bin said. Jinwoo nodded. 

 

"Moon Bin!" Dongmin comes running around the corner. 

 

"They think Orcs have managed to sneak into the court!" Dongmin said, his sword is steady in his hand. "If we go around the back, we can get Myungjun back to his room,"

 

Orcs, Jinwoo thought as he looked into the mad crowd that was now running like headless chickens. His family...

 

"I sent your family to the barracks," Dongmin said. "They'll be protected there,"

 

"Thank you," Jinwoo said 

 

"Don't thank me yet, we still need to get somewhere safe," Dongmin reaches for his belt, removed the small dagger from its belt, and passes it to Jinwoo. "I hope you don't find a reason to use it,"

 

Jinwoo takes the dagger, its light, shiny and very sharp. He really hoped he didn't find a chance to use this. 

 

Getting back to Myungjun's room is rather easy, once Moon Bin and Dongmin are sure they've enchanted his room enough, they ready themselves to go back out.

 

"We need to figure out what the situation is," Dongmin said. "This place is shrouded in magic that nothing can even touch it, as long as _you don't leave_ ,"

 

"We won't," Jinwoo said. 

 

"I'm trusting you, Jinwoo," Moon Bin said. "Don't let him get hurt,"

 

They leave the two in silence. Myungjun begins to pace around the room. Jinwoo could feel the frustration radiate from him. 

 

"I have to be out there!" Myungjun said. "A Prince doesn't cower in fear in his bedroom!"

 

"We can't go, Myungjun," Jinwoo said. "We don't know what's out there and it isn't safe,"

 

Suddenly, there's a rush of people running past Myungjun's door. Their footsteps echoed through the room. A child is crying. 

 

That sets Myungjun off. Before Jinwoo could even react, he's already opened the door and went running in the direction of the noise. 

 

"M-myungjun!" Jinwoo swore as he quickly gained speed to follow the prince. 

 

"It's fine!" Myungjun said, as the two ran down the halls. They skid to a stop outside a room where the noise was originating from. A small child's voice. Myungjun slams the door open and inside a young fae was hunching over a bundle of blankets. 

 

"Are you okay?" Myungjun asked. 

 

The women stands up, barely, shaking in her thin clothes. Jinwoo fears for the child in her hands. 

 

"Oh, your highness!" she sobbed. "Those orcs were terrifying. I had to run to the safest place I could think of,"

 

"You're safe," Myungjun took a step forward. "Come with us,"

 

"Oh, how I wish I could..."

 

"What do you mean?" Myungjun asked. Jinwoo watched her carefully as she careless held the child in her arms. She shifts her arm, the fabric pulls lightly. Jinwoo gasps. There wasn't a child. 

 

"You're a traitor to our kind!" She hissed. 

 

Jinwoo nearly jumped as she stepped towards them. She pulls a sickle out of the folds of the blanket. Jinwoo didn't waste a second. He reaches over to Myungjun's side and takes out the blade Dongmin had given him. Jinwoo throws a hit, but she hopped to the side. He pushes Myungjun to the floor, just in time for his body to miss the intruder's swipe.  Jinwoo plants himself in her path. She certainly wasn't expecting Jinwoo to step up. He capitalised on her confusion and brings the dagger on the arm holding the sickle. The sickle falls to the ground, its loud clatter is barely audible from the shrills of her screaming. She stumbles forward, her sharp nails aiming for Jinwoo. 

 

The door slams open and Moon Bin comes charging in. He doesn't waste a second and tackles the intruder down before her aim lands on him. Moon Bin forces the intruder to her feet, ignoring her cries of pain. Another soldier enters the room, and he throws her to them, and they lead her away. 

 

"A change is coming!" she screamed. "And none of you will live long enough to see it!"

 

The door slams shut. And Jinwoo finds his legs weakened. He stares at the dagger in his hands. Blood dripped from it. He drops it in disgust. He held his breath, then exhaled slowly. 

 

"Jinwoo, are you even listening?" Moon Bin said, raising his voice. He hadn't even realised he was speaking. "I told you not the leave his room!"

 

"Don't blame him," Myungjun said. He gets up from the floor. "He only followed me,"

 

"I'm sorry," Jinwoo whispered, his whole body is shivering. 

 

"Be lucky none of you were hurt," Moon Bin said. Another soldier rushes back in. 

 

"I'm to report to the King about what had happened,"

 

Jinwoo watches Moon Bin's face, carefully. He's a little rustled from this sudden attack. He's clearly stressed, and antsy about having to report this to the king. This wouldn't look good on him. So Jinwoo speaks up. 

 

"The intruder posed as staff," Jinwoo said. "Moon Bin managed to tackle her before she could do any harm,"

 

The soldier raises his eyebrows. He turns to Moon Bin for confirmation. 

 

"Send that to the King," Moon Bin said, the soldier nods, and leaves the room. 

 

"You didn't need to do that, Jinwoo," Moon Bin said. "We should've said the truth,"

 

"It is," Jinwoo shrugged. "You did tackle her,"

 

Moon Bin rolled his eyes. "C'mon, your highness, lets get you back to your room. They're still securing the rest of the Court,"

 

Jinwoo follows the two as they return back to Myungjun's room. Jinwoo's eyes can't help but ghost over his hands. They're slightly bloodied, quickly drying on his fingertips. Myungjun quietly enters his room. Jinwoo's about to turn around when Moon Bin stops him. 

 

"It'll be good if you stay with Myungjun tonight," Moon Bin said. "Room checks will probably go on all night,"

 

"Even mine?"

 

"Better safe than sorry,"

 

"I need to bathe," Jinwoo said. The dust and blood was starting to settle on him and it made him feel icky.

 

"Use Myungjun's bathroom," Moon Bin said, ignoring the colour rising in Jinwoo's cheeks. "Consider it an order from the Court of Shadows,"

 

"I was wondering when I was going to get another one of those," Jinwoo said. 

 

"Seriously, Jinwoo," Moon Bin said. "He's shaken up, and I need to be on this side of the door,"

 

Myungjun's silence certainly hadn't gone unnoticed. It probably the longest Myungjun had been quiet for. 

 

"Okay,"

 

"There's a servant's room on the left of his room," Moon Bin said, before lowering his voice, giving Jinwoo a small smirk. "Maybe you won't even need it,"

 

"I just stabbed someone," Jinwoo muttered. "I won't hesitate to do it again,"

 

"Oh, no," Moon Bin said, bluntly, pushing the door open. "A human threatening me? How _scary._ "

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OWO 
> 
> twitter: zarohawrites


	18. I chose you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> finally...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UNEDITED
> 
> short but kinda sweet. no plot advancement here. i feel like yall deserved this chapter finally.

Myungjun makes no movement when Jinwoo enters his room. He's removed his cloak and most of his outerwear, now standing over the window. The noise of soldiers carrying out their search flood his room. Myungjun looks so much younger without the bustle of faerie life around him. He's so quiet and silent that a terrible flood of emotions overcame Jinwoo. Everything was suddenly so very real. He looks down at his blood-stained hands. He had never wanted to hurt another person, human or fae. His vision blurred with tears. He felt dizzy, disorientated. Before Myungjun could see him, he bowed his head and made his way to his bathroom to wash his hands. He's drying his hands when Myungjun finally spoke again.

 

"I doubt this will let up anytime soon," He sighed. Jinwoo could hardly hear him, he had to strain to catch. 

 

"Moon Bin said searches will go on for the night," Jinwoo said, putting the cloth back. 

 

"I know that," Myungjun sighed, he turned away from the window to sit on his bed. "I meant... everything else,"

 

"Myungjun..." Jinwoo said, unsure of his own words. Myungjun smiled softly, bitterly, and closed his eyes, leaning his head against his bed. Jinwoo wondered if he was about to cry. Tears shone in his eyes but they refused to fall. He could feel the intensity of his gaze on him as began to clear up Myungjun's room. He picks up books left on the table, placing them back to their rightful place on the shelf, he clears away pencils left on the table. Myungjun had been in the middle of a doodle. It was incomplete, but Jinwoo could see the two hands holding each other tightly. The faces weren't drawn yet. 

 

Moon Bin knocks on the door and behind him is Haknyeon who is rolling in a tray of food for Myungjun. 

 

"For the prince," he whispered.

 

"Haknyeon, my family--"

 

"They're fine," Haknyeon said. "I made sure they all got home,"

 

Jinwoo reached for his friend's shoulder. "Thank you,"

 

Haknyeon nodded before turning away, silently. He watches the silent prince, but barely even looks in his direction. Haknyeon looked to Jinwoo, who lowered his head. He'll explain later. It's just the two of them again and Jinwoo gets to work with mixing the food on the tray. He mixes the pork belly, herbs and spices with the thick noodles that were steaming hot. He passes the bowl to Myungjun who silently sat down at his desk, like a child, and quietly ate. 

 

He's barely taken three bites when he burst into tears. 

 

"I-m sorry," He sobbed. Jinwoo moved the bowl away before Myungjun could spill it in his outburst. Jinwoo takes some tissue and wipes his tears with it. Myungjun bent closer to him, close enough to embrace, but they didn't. 

 

"I never thanked you," Myungjun said. "You saved my life and I didn't... even thank you,"

 

"It's okay," Jinwoo said. 

 

"It's not okay," Myungjun said. 

 

"Myungjun, please, don't worry about this," Jinwoo started. 

 

"How can I not?" Myungjun sighed. "I'm supposed to be King!"

 

"It's okay," Jinwoo stepped forward. "Even Kings make mistake,"

 

"But I can't be a King who makes mistakes," Myungjun said. "Everyone's hope are pinned on me. I can't fail them,"

 

Jinwoo stared.  Was this the first time he had found his life in danger? If so, Jinwoo would understand the stress. If he wasn't safe in his own home, how would he fare as King? Jinwoo could slowly see Myungjun finally realise what he was up against. And it scared him. All people would ever say that he was born into a family of Kings and Queens, and so no matter what he thought, he had to become a king. 

 

Myungjun gets from his seat and returns to his bed. His hands rush through his hair in frustration, and he quietly settle down before looking at Jinwoo. 

 

"All my life this was the only thing I was ever told to do," Myungjun said. He releases another sigh of frustration. "But I fear the Kingdom will suffer for this,"

 

"Myungjun," Jinwoo said. "It's okay to be scared, but you won't be alone,"

 

Myungjun looked up.

 

"I'm sorry for bringing you into this," Myungjun said softly. "It - was selfish of me,"

 

Myungjun's eyes finally met Jinwoo's, and he offered him a smile. Jinwoo suddenly felt a rush of emotion again. This time it wasn't sadness. He forces himself to push those feelings away fro now. Not now.

 

"I was obsessed with my plans that I didn't think," Myungjun said suddenly. "You shouldn't have had to stab someone for me. I shouldn't have done this to you,"

 

Myungjun's voice broke, and Jinwoo once again saw tears break through his closed eyes. 

 

“Myungjun, what are you talking about?” he demanded.

 

"I forced this on you," Myungjun said. His heartbroken tears came so heavily. "You should've been given a space to make a choice, but I was so wrapped around my own thoughts that I didn't think... I should've give you a choice! A proper choice."

 

Jinwoo frowned and it takes a while for him to register what Myungjun was saying. Before he could think of his own actions, he walked over and wrapped his arms tightly around Myungjun, holding his as close as he could. 

 

"I did have a choice, Myungjun," Jinwoo whispered. And he did. He agreed to Siwoo's offer, Moon Bin's offer, even Jiyeon's offer. Every choice he made was of his own free will. 

 

He held Myungjun until the tears were no more. The warmth of his body seeped into Myungjun. He loosened his grip on the prince to step away. 

 

"Myungjun, I hope you know everything I've done was never forced on me," Jinwoo said. "You may need to answer to Faerie laws, but I don't. Everything I did was made because I chose to do it. And I _chose_ you. And that's a choice I'll never regret."

 

Myungjun swayed a little, sniffling. 

 

"It's okay to be frustrated," Jinwoo said. "Sure, the world is changing, but all isn't terrible. And you'll see it some day, even if you can't see it now,"

 

Myungjun looked up at him, his face soften. "Jinwoo,"

 

His tone was different. Jinwoo stood in front of Myungjun, too scared to look into his eyes, so he looked at everything else. His cheeks, hair, lips. His skin was blush and soft. Jinwoo wanted to kiss him so badly. But he couldn't do _that_ now. 

 

"Jinwoo, look at me," Myungjun said, his voice low. 

 

He finally garnered the courage to look him in the eyes. Jinwoo could literally hear his heart beating ferociously.  Myungjun was already watching carefully. Myungjun's long fingers reached out and touched Jinwoo's wrist. A simple yet explosive gesture which elicited a rush of arousal. Jinwoo hadn't even realised he was trembling until Myungjun's touch soothed him. Jinwoo gazed at Myungjun as he slowly watched his mouth turn into a gentle smile. 

 

“Fuck,” Jinwoo breathed out. “This is…”

 

Myungjun let out a light chuckle. "I know,"

 

There's another moment silence where Myungjun reaches with his other hand and cups Jinwoo's face. 

 

"Can I kiss you?" He asked. Jinwoo wants to laugh. He had grown up watching faeries stomp around his life, taking from him without even asking, and here was Myungjun asking for something so simple. Jinwoo nodded, and leaned forward without waiting for Myungjun to make the first move. He almost pauses when their lips graze, but Myungjun fills the space, pulling them together into a deep kiss. 

 

Jinwoo had kissed faerie boys before. Often messily, done in seconds, done because the faerie in question just simply wanted to see what a human boy was like. But kissing Myungjun was new. A different sensation. Jinwoo moves forward, Myungjun's thighs open to accommodate Jinwoo between them. 

 

Lips on lips quickly became skin on skin as Myungjun pulled Jinwoo forward and rolled him over so Jinwoo was now pressed against the soft bed. Despite the rough move, Myungjun kept kissing him gently, Jinwoo laughed in between kisses. Myungjun pulled back, releasing his grip on Jinwoo. Their clothes were already a crumpled mess, and there's another silence as the two try to get their breathing under control. 

 

"What's so funny?" he asked, breathlessly, his already plump lips were wet and red. Jinwoo leaned up to kiss him again. 

 

"Nothing. At. All," Jinwoo said in between kisses on different parts of Myungjun's face. Myungjun kisses him again and huffed out a soft chuckle. Slowly, the kisses move down Jinwoo's jaw and making home all over his neck. Jinwoo could feel Myungjun's hips as they bucked against him. Jinwoo gasped at the slow grind. 

 

"How far.." Myungjun whispered in his muffled kisses. Jinwoo knew what he was insinuating. As much as he wanted, he wasn't anticipating to go so far tonight considering he had only decided to want to kiss him literally ten minutes ago. 

 

"This is enough," Jinwoo said. "For tonight,"

 

Myungjun removes his lip from the base of his throat. There were definitely going to be marks. He uses one arm to separate their bodies but he's still towering over Jinwoo. Jinwoo felt his cheeks heat up, his body trembles and the ache inside him is telling to hurry up. With that, Jinwoo pulled Myungjun back into his arms, his mouth once again against his mouth, his hands rush behind his back, moaning Myungjun's name. 

 

Jinwoo isn't aware of how much time has passed, but they do properly separate. Only so Myungjun could find something clean for Jinwoo to wear. Once the new clothes were on, Myungjun leads him over to his bed, despite Jinwoo's suggestion that he should sleep in the servant quarters. 

 

"What if someone walks in?"

 

"Protocols mean only Moon Bin as my head of guard is allowed to enter my room until everything is cleared," Myungjun said, climbing into his bed. He pulls back the other side of the duvet for Jinwoo. "And I hardly think this will come as a shock to him,"

 

Jinwoo crawls into the empty space next to Myungjun, his presence a comfortable space next to him. Myungjun immediately kisses him again, before the two loosen into a hug. Today has tired the both of them out so Jinwoo wasn't surprised to see both of them begin to doze off so quickly. Myungjun falls asleep first.

 

In the quiet moments before he falls asleep, his mind floods him with thoughts that he wasn't ready to face. Perhaps he should've asked what this meant for them now. Jinwoo was fully aware that this complicated his position even more, but as he watches Myungjun snore into his shoulder, Jinwoo wasn't sure how close his heart was to bursting with emotions.

 

For another day, I suppose, Jinwoo thought. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert that gif of someone posting something and then running away from their laptop*
> 
> twitter: zarohawrites


	19. letters to you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> moon bin sends Jinwoo on another mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO?! SORRY FOR LEAVING FOR A MONTH. GETTING A DEGREE IS HARD WORK AND STRESSFUL. UPDATES WILL BE SPORADIC. 
> 
> also short chapter but speeds up the events so it'll get to the original drama I had plotted for this fic dndsdsidjji

Jinwoo's senses have heightened over his years of living in the Fae world. So by the time Moon Bin walks over to the bed, he's already awake and sitting up. 

 

"Don't," he whispered. 

 

Moon Bin grinned, his voice also a low hush. "I didn't say anything,"

 

Jinwoo looked over to Myungjun, a surprisingly active sleeper, who was now sprawled all over the bed. 

 

"I didn't want to wake you, but duties call," Moon Bin said. "Shadow duties,"

 

"Oh," Jinwoo said. He quietly got up from the bed and follow Moon Bin out the room. There's another soldier stationed at the door as they walk by. 

 

"Thanks, by the way," Moon Bin said. 

 

"For what?"

 

"Dongmin owes me a dinner now," Moon Bin laughed. "If this happened a day later, I would've lost an incredibly important book of mine,"

 

"Why am I not surprised?" Jinwoo huffed. "Next time, tell me, I might help the odds in your favour,"

 

"Will do," Moon Bin said. "Anyway, I went digging into Dongmin's father,"

 

"And did you find anything?"

 

"Nothing yet," Moon Bin shook his head. "But he's hiding something. I went to have dinner the other night with his family, and he was awfully suspicious about us entering his office. And that was weird."

 

"How so? It's his office?"

 

"Dongmin and I grew up together," Moon Bin said. "That office was like our playground, we were free to roam it whenever, but now he has guards stationed at the doors,"

 

"Okay, that's a little suspicious,"

 

"Exactly, but he has servants coming in every now and then to clean the office," 

 

"So I sneak in as a cleaner, and find whatever he's hiding?"

 

"Yes,"

 

The two stop outside Moon Bin's room, where he retrieves an Healer's Court uniform. On top of the folded clothes was a …. 

 

"I cleaned it for you," Moon Bin said, handling the knife Jinwoo had used to stab the fae traitor. Jinwoo fondled the knife, he was right, it was clean, but he couldn't help but feel the blood all over again. 

 

"Thank you," he whispered. A group of servants walk past, Jinwoo shoves the clothes under his arms, hiding the colours as much as he can. 

 

"Dongmin's family will be here in the Royal Court," Moon Bin said, loud enough for them to hear. "You wouldn't know but its protocol for the Head families to be present in the Main Court in a state of emergency,"

 

Jinwoo nodded, understanding what he meant. _It should be easier to hide._

 

Once the servants are gone, Jinwoo hurries off to change and sneak his way out the castle. He's gotten better at it now, which paths to take, what time was the quietest to travel around the court. Healer's court was busy, and Jinwoo felt a tinge of guilt. Whilst he had the privilege of spending the night with Myungjun, it had completely slipped his mind that others had been injured. There was no delivery today, but the uniform of the Healer's court made it easier than last time. Now less on edge, it gave him time to browse the court. Dongmin's home was a rather large manor, draped in vines and flowers. There's multiple balconies, Jinwoo noted, and strong vines hanging off the edge. It was the perfect way in but it was too public. Someone was bound to spot him in this nightlight. 

 

Jinwoo turned the corner, and made his way into the servants entrance. No one blinks an eye. He found himself back into the kitchen again, this time much busier, and in the middle of preparing breakfast for everyone. Jinwoo soon realised that the fae never had set meals designated for different meal times. If you wanted a steak for breakfast, it would on your plate sizzling and oozing with flavour. He manages to snag a triple chocolate muffin from a tray, mumbling a sorry to an enchanted baker. 

 

Jinwoo joined at a great time. Workers began to split off with their cleaners trolley into different rooms. He snatches a trolley from a staff, who is momentarily confused but their enchanted state forces them to move on, and begin to work on another task. He dons the face mask, and tries his best to make his eyes look as dazed as possible. 

 

Moon Bin had left a map of the Court, a dot marking the office and Jinwoo had committed to memory before he even left the Court. He burnt the slip of paper, allowing the pieces to blow away in the wind. He pushes the trolley down the hall until he made his way to the office. He hadn't even needed the map, it was the only door with guards. 

 

The faerie guard stopped him, glaring at Jinwoo in disgust. 

 

"Ugh, already another one," the fae scoffed. "They should've just used magic to clean this room, so we don't have to smell them all the time,"

"I haven't seen this one before," the other guard says. 

Jinwoo froze, but not completely, swaying slightly like a enchanted human. He waits a bit before moving his cart slightly to the room next door to them. 

"No, wait," the fae guard grabbed his arm. "The old man will kill us if his books don't get cleaned,"

The two guards move out the way, and allow Jinwoo to push through with his cart. Once the door is firmly closed behind him, he leaves the cart slightly by the door, anyone who comes in will hit the cart, giving Jinwoo a couple of seconds to return to character. 

The office was decadent. Jinwoo was shocked that as kids Moon Bin and Dongmin were allowed to play in here. But something told him they weren't exactly ordinary, loud kids. A massive desk took up most of the room, it was carved with animals and told some story that Jinwoo didn't care to understand. Books were piled up, spread out and paper was scattered all over. A pen was lying on the desk, the ink pot opened. He must've been called in a hurry from last night and hadn't think to clean before he left. The first thing he does is search the draws. All of them open but one. Locked, in need of a key. But it wasn't an ordinary one, it had a strange ridge to it, like a messup chess piece that slotted right into it. 

Moon Bin didn't know what Seokmin was hiding, but it must've been something that was easily concealable in an office. He looks to the book shelf that dominated the other half of the room. Nothing that looked treasonous. Along the walls were mixed books, not categorised in any order. Some fae and some human, to Jinwoo surprise. He's using a duster around the room, but it didn't do anything but help his play his part. Despite the orderly mess, the room was spotless. On his desk, was a family photo which shocked Jinwoo. After seeing Seokmin slap Dongmin, he'd hardly expect him to be keeping photos of him. But it hadn't been Dongmin, it was a photo of Daehan and his mother.

_Ouch._

He wonders if Dongmin has entered this office and had seen that. He picks the photo up and turns to the back. He had seen it in movies, where the spy finds a hidden key behind the photo. But there was nothing there. The photo was heavy and the edges that propped it up was falling loose. Jinwoo pulls it off and also gasps. He rushes back to the locked draw and slips the piece into the slot. The sound of it unlocking as sheer joy. 

Jinwoo pulls the draw open. There's paper, written with medical jargon on each paper. Jinwoo frowned. Why would Seokmin keep paitents records under lock and key? His eyes scan as fast as he can until the patients name up.

Her Royal Highness, Kim Joowon, Queen of the High Court. Jinwoo's stomach sank. Myungjun's mother. He can barely decipher the medical report, discussing different illnesses and all the aliments that didn't work on her. He begins to copy what he can onto another piece of paper. He's shuffling through them all neatly until something falls from the pile he's holding. A letter, he picked it up. There was a note attached. 

_My debt is paid_ , it said in elegant writing, _give this to him so he may understand what I had to do. B ut please do not harm my son, he's all I have left of what had passed. _Jinwoo pulled the note away, and saw the letter addressed to "My Little Bird," Jiyeon had called Myungjun that, perhaps it was a name from his mother, explaining why it had bristled him to hear his eldest sister say it. He should open, it must've been important for Seokmin to withhold it from Myungjun, but he can't help but feel guilty. Maybe Moon Bin won't be so hesitant. Jinwoo traced the letter and pressed the thick paper into the folds on his shirt. He finds another similar envelope and stuff paper inside of it, and places that one back into the folds of the paper. He's barely closed the draw and put the key back to the picture when he hears a sound. Someone was coming. 

Jinwoo panicked and began to tidy up his trolley, pushing it out the door. It was just a group of soldiers walking up, and decided to chat to the ones guarding the door. Jinwoo sighed with relief under his mask, pushing the trolley until it was returned to the kitchen. His steps back to the main courts are quick and light, but he can't help but feel dragged over by the letter, addressed to Myungjun, hidden away in the folds of his clothes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter: zarohawrites


	20. congratulations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Myungjun receives big news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bro im the WORST at pacing. unedited as always.

"I can't open it, Jinwoo," Moon Bin said, pressing the letter back into his hands.

 

"C'mon, I thought out of the two of us, you'd have the least morals,"

 

"That is correct," Moon Bin said. "But I actually can't, it's enchanted,"

 

"So no one can open it?" Jinwoo took the letter back, hiding in back into the folds of his shirt. 

 

"Except Myungjun," Moon Bin said. "It's addressed to him, and I guess his Mother was seriously about not letting anyone else see it,"

 

"What do you think is in it?" Jinwoo pondered. 

 

"Queen Joowon loved Myungjun with all her heart," Moon Bin said solemly. "She was seen praying to the Gods every day during her pregnancy, giving gifts in hopes of a peaceful birth, and a good child. She was highly protective of him as well. When her time was near, she must've wrote this letter to him before she passed,"

 

It feels like the letter is weighing down like a boulder. He should give it to him, but the questions that would arise out of the letter's sudden apperance would ruin Moon Bin's plan. 

 

"It explains why Seokmin had the letter," Moon Bin said. "If its for Myungjun's eyes only, it must be something big. Something Seokmin can use."

 

"Or he could be chasing a dead end," Jinwoo said.  "And this is simply a dying mother's last words to her son,"

 

There's an unsettling silence between the two. Jinwoo coughed. 

 

"What about the rest of her children?" Jinwoo asked. 

 

"The age difference between Myungjun and his siblings is quite large," Moon Bin said. "The rest of them had already grown up and sent to other countries for diplomatic reasons. Myungjun is still only 23 in human years now, barely even 5 when she passed. Still a baby in fae terms. Seokmin was most likely able to hide his letter because of his young age."

 

"How did she..." Jinwoo asked. 

 

"She was severely ill," Moon Bin said. "It started from her birth implications with Myungjun, and no magic could ever heal the difficult pregnancy she had. It's common knowledge to those who remember,"

 

Jinwoo thinks about Myungjun. The boy who never stopped smiling. Who always ended most of his sentences with a laugh that would leave you grinning. 

 

"His mother was very pro-human," Moon Bin said. "She began a campaign to end human contracts, but it slipped off her agenda when she got pregnant,"

 

"Really?" Jinwoo gaped. "I suppose this must be his way of honouring his mother,"

 

“That … isn’t everything,” Moon Bin looked down, slightly ashamed. “There were also rumours that she had an affair with a human, and she wanted to free that man from the Court that held him,”

 

Jinwoo gasped. “And then?”

 

“No one knows what happened to him. Or if the story is even true,” Moon Bin shrugged. “Hell, if it is true, no one is supposed to know except the King and his Advisors. I heard the soldiers in the changing room discussing it. It’s all rumours though.”

 

“That’s a pretty hefty rumour,” Jinwoo pondered on the thought. “You don’t think she was killed because of it, do you?”

 

“I don’t know,” Moon Bin gritted his teeth. “But a Queen dying from something that should’ve been healable is close to impossible, it’s a little suspect,”

 

“But that would mean the King is involved—”

 

“Stop,” Moon Bin cut him off. “Like I said it’s all rumours, even I don’t know if it’s true, and maybe this letter will clear it up,”

 

There's a knock at the door. Dongmin and- Myungjun walk inside. It's disorientating to Jinwoo to see him again, especially after their rather close evening. Myungjun smiles lightly at Jinwoo. Jinwoo's hand reaches to pull at his collar, blushing when he remembers the marks. The duality of him flooded his mind, the calm and collected prince versus the passionate lover. 

 

"We've been requested by the King," Dongmin said, then turning to Jinwoo. " _All_ of us,"

 

"Me?" Jinwoo squeaked, quietly cursing his voice for betraying him like that. 

 

"Well, Myungjun's court members were requested and that includes you too," Dongmin said. "It's urgent, I believe,"

 

And without any other questions, they all set off. Moon Bin and Dongmin take their place a few paces ahead, allowing Myungjun and Jinwoo to walk side by side. Jinwoo catches Moon Bin smirking as he purposely quickens his step, lightly pulling on Dongmin to follow.

 

"Jinwoo," Myungjun said. "You weren't there when I woke up,"

 

"Sorry, I had to attend to more duties with Haknyeon,"

 

Myungjun slows down a little. "I see,"

 

"I'm sorry, I should've left a message for you," Jinwoo said.

 

"No, no. It's fine," Myungjun smiled again. "If it's okay..... I'd like it if you'd stay the night again,"

 

Jinwoo feels the heat rise to his cheeks. 

 

"I- I mean that servants quarters are available to you now," Myungjun stammered, slightly flustered at his forwardness. His own red cheeks shine brightly against his silk shirt. 

 

Jinwoo's hand graze past Myungjun's, carefully not to let staff walking by to see them so close. 

 

"I'll be there," Jinwoo said. 

 

The path they take is longer than usual, most likely a security precaution. They take a detour around the stables where the horses were milling around freely. Jinwoo's hand pats one on the back as they go past. 

 

What happens next is too quick. Moon Bin and Dongmin have turned a corner. Myungjun stops him quickly, holding one of his hands and presses his lips against Jinwoo's palm. Jinwoo blushes again. It's a sudden, but sweet move. Before Jinwoo can stop himself, he leans in for a kiss, and Myungjun returns the favour.

 

"C'mon," Jinwoo said pulling away, his face now burning hot. "We should catch up,"

 

The two hurry up, ignoring the looks they receive from their friends. Jinwoo fixes his shirt, and Myungjun’s blush red cheeks have cooled by the time they’ve all reached the room. Jinwoo almost does a double take when he realises that they haven’t come to the main hall. This hall is super guarded, Jinwoo counts five guards in just five minutes, pacing down the hall.

“This is my father’s room,” Myungjun said, his voice much softer. “He hasn’t been getting better,”

It finally hits Jinwoo that the last time he had spoken to the King he had promised he wouldn’t do the very thing he was doing right now. Hongbin had threatened his life, and yet here he was, about to walk into his room, alongside his son. Moon Bin’s words about the Queen’s mysterious death adds a little more fear to his already growing pile of it. Did the King have a part in this? Or was this all just the fate’s cruel way of punishing the Queen for no reason. A dark part inside of him is thankful the King is weak, that way he couldn’t be hateful towards Jinwoo, chastise him for refusing to keep to his word. But Jinwoo hadn’t formally promised anything, but the fear is still a little unsettling.

They enter silently. The King is lying in his bed, dressed well for guests, but even Jinwoo would see the gaunt look in his eyes. His skin was taunt, and dry. His hair a mess, but there was a clear attempt to hold it back in a ponytail to hide how bad it looked. Jinwoo, Moon Bin and Dongmin all kneel before him, but Myungjun just rushes to his bedside.

“Father,” Myungjun said. “How are you?”

“Well, my boy,” Hongbin coughed. “The morning isn’t always the best,”

Myungjun reached for his father’s hand. It’s a personal moment, and Jinwoo finds himself staring out the window.

A man steps forward. Jinwoo stares at him, and then it clicks that he’s Moon Bin’s father. Moon Joonyong is a handsome man, like his son. He’s practically an older carbon copy if not for Moon Bin’s pink hair.

“The King apologises for bringing you all here so early,” he said. “But there’s an urgent matter at hand,”

“Please, Joonyong,” the King said. “We’re surrounded by our sons and his... closest friends,”

Jinwoo can feel the King staring at him when he pauses.

“What’s the matter?” Myungjun asked.

“There is no easy way to say this, my son,” Hongbin said, coughing. “But I can’t rule for much longer,”

There’s a shroud of silence as everyone slowly takes in his words. Jinwoo gasps lightly. Is he saying…

“Father…” Myungjun said, his words trailing off, unsure and unsteady. Jinwoo can see his hands trembling in his father’s light grip.

“Your father has decided to step down from the throne,” Joonyong said, loud and clear, confirming Hongbin’s words. “Congratulations, you are to be crowned King of the Fae in a week’s time,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter: zarohawrites


	21. and that would be enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> myungjun denies jiyeon's help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a myungjun POV for the first half. wanted to get his perspective in here to test the waters.

Myungjun's frozen, speechless, for once in his life. In one week's time, he'll be King of the Fae.

 

He doesn't remember being taken back to his room, now flooded with advisors at each side. He's almost scared if hadn't caught a glimpse of pink peach hair. Knowing Jinwoo was there and close comforted him. He didn't say much. So involved in what was happening, he realised he hadn't spoken to him all day except for their little moment with the horses. Jinwoo is holding onto Moon Bin's every word, informing him of changes that would be happening. They'd move rooms of course. A bigger one, more fit for a king, Dongmin had said. 

 

Myungjun began mourning his current room. It had grown up in it, made a million messes inside of it, and all of best memories were held in this room. The first time he picked up a pencil, the first time he drew a portrait picture. There was a whole load of firsts that Myungjun experienced in this room.

 

It begins to settle that in a week's time, he'd be wearing a crown and ruling a land he had no way how to control. Despite all the meetings, lessons, and talks his father had made him experience, Myungjun knew it would never be enough. But he was expected to be King, and a King he should be.  But there was so much he didn't know, and he prayed to the Gods that they would let him have his father a little longer so he would find out what. 

 

A Goblin and Elven representative enter his room sometime after lunch, and Myungjun has to send everyone out the room, even Jinwoo. His eyes follow the pink head until the guards slam the door shut. Despite Myungjun not officially being King yet, they decided it would be best to lessen the stress on King Hongbin and began discussing what to do about the issue in the North. 

 

It still unsettled him to his day. Orcs were terrible creatures, mindless hive-like monsters, who attacked anything in their way. He was grateful they were banished to the North when they were. But they were coming down. And it was Myungjun's choice now. He had to decide and make the shots. He's a mess in the meetings, and the reps brush it off as shock from the news. So they leave Myungjun quickly, and Myungjun asks them to come tomorrow. Tomorrow, he'd make better choices. Today, he just wanted to cry. 

 

He's barely alone for a second when his sister barged in, paying little attention to guards outside his room. That didn't shock him, what shocked him was the guard she had assigned to her. Myungjun recognises Minhyuk, Jinwoo's brother. He guessed his skills at the tournament must've really impressed her. She must've brought him in to make a point because she sends him right out again. 

 

"Congratulations, little bird," Jiyeon grinned. "You're finally getting what you wanted,"

 

"Stop that," Myungjun snapped. 

 

Jiyeon shrugged and helped herself to the bowl of fruit someone had left for Myungjun. 

 

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm not exactly happy about this," Myungjun said. 

 

"Oh, I know," Jiyeon grinned. 

 

"Then why are you here?"

 

"Well, I might as well make my bargain with you since Dad is on his way out,"

 

Myungjun gritted his teeth. "Our father is dying, and this is how you speak of him,"

 

"Hear me out, little bird,"

 

"Don't call me that," Myungjun said. "And I don't want anything to do with you,"

 

"If you'd just hear me out, little brother,"

 

"No," Myungjun said, firmly. "I won't listen to you,"

 

Jiyeon looked at him sourly. "You're making a grave mistake, little brother,"

 

"Anything is better than listening to you," Myungjun said, calling the guards back to his room. Minhyuk is the first to enter. "Minhyuk, escort my sister back to her halls,"

 

"You don't tell my men what to do," Jiyeon snapped. 

 

"Then don't come barging in, telling me what to do," Myungjun said. 

 

“You’re making a mistake, little brother,” Jiyeon sighed. “If you’d please listen—”

 

“What good has ever come out of listening to you?!” Myungjun said, harshly. Even Minhyuk is taken back by his words. But Myungjun ignored that. Minhyuk grew up in a loving family, judging from Jinwoo’s words. Father who actually cared for his wellbeing, and siblings who loved him. Since the day his mother passed, his father kept pushing him onto a pedestal too high for him to reach. His siblings left, leaving only Jiyeon behind who did nothing but terrorise him for simply being born. His mother….

 

Five years was all he had with his mother, and he can barely conjure up a memory of her if not for the paintings around the halls. Perhaps, that’s why he had fallen in love with the art of drawing. No matter how weak a memory could be, a drawing allowed it to survive. His sketchbooks were filled with half finished drawings of someone he had hoped to be his mother. By the time he got to the face, everything went blank. He couldn’t remember his mother’s face. But he remembered being loved. It had been a long time since Myungjun left that warmth in his life again. And then came him.

 

He was supposed to be at a meeting when he heard Moon Bin’s voice echo through the halls. He had followed it to see them terrorising Jinwoo. He had looked so scared. He tried to hide it but Myungjun could see it. The same way he’d hold in his pain whenever Jiyeon would come by with whatever trick she had up her sleeve. Whether it be a waterbomb, or spilling ink over his newest piece. She had even hidden his nightly medicine from him one day. He spent the night vomiting until the doctor came by with the next dose.

 

So, he stepped in and watched Jinwoo throw up the same defensive walls he placed within himself. He was worried that he was little too brash, too loud, but Jinwoo was a quiet boy, enjoyed the silence he surrounded himself in. Myungjun wished he could say the same.

 

He should’ve left Jinwoo alone, but his curiosity got the better of him. He had offered his idea to remove human contracts months before and it created an uproar within the inner Courts. His father was against it completely, so when he saw Jinwoo, a plan hatched. He mentioned Jinwoo’s family, how well their farm was, and how it would do good to have one of their farmers working alongside the Courts. His father took the bait, he guessed, but his father was smart, he most likely knew his plan of inviting Jinwoo to his court, so he tried his best to make sure Jinwoo stayed in the Gardens, far away from him. But somehow, he found Jinwoo, and Jinwoo found him. And being with him made Myungjun feel less of a failure. Working alongside him could prove to the courts that Humans can work alongside us without magic keeping them there. And it made him forget his own weaknesses. Something inside of him digs at him, his mind scolding for developing feelings for a human boy who might never truly be his.

 

Before his own staff re-enters the room, Myungjun goes to his bedside table to retrieve his medicine. The liquid made him feel stronger, hide any of the mess that was inside, made it all disappear, and he looked every bit of the prince- no, King he should be.

 

**

Jinwoo’s dumbfounded. He can barely get a word in when he sees Minhyuk trailing behind Jiyeon, suited up in Court colours. He enters the room with her, but comes back out, waiting alongside Jinwoo.

 

“When did that happen?” Jinwoo asked.

 

“She sent an invitation after the tournament,” Minhyuk said. “I couldn’t say no,”

 

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Minhyuk,”

 

“I do,” Minhyuk said. “And I don’t know why you’re being so negative,”

“It’s like you said, the Courts are dangerous,” Jinwoo said. “And now you’re in it, like I am,”

 

“Maybe I was wrong,”

 

Jinwoo looked at his younger brother. How innocent he looked believing he was protecting a simple cause. If Jiyeon was serious about the dragons, he’d hoped that Minhyuk didn’t get dragged down with her. Perhaps, Jinwoo should tell him.

 

But then Myungjun calls for the guards, and Minhyuk leaves his side. A minute later, Jiyeon storms out, and Minhyuk is trailing behind her, looking confused.

 

Jinwoo enters the room to find Myungjun standing over his bed. He tried to hide his medicine but Jinwoo can see him shove the vial back into his drawers.

 

“Is everything okay?” Jinwoo asked.

 

“It’s just my sister,” Myungjun said. “Even when I’m busy, she doesn’t fail to irritate me,”

 

“Did she want anything?”

 

“I don’t know!” Myungjun sighed. “I told her to leave before she could say anything. It was probably nothing good anyway,”

 

Jinwoo realises this is the first time he’s seen Myungjun actually angry. Borderline fuming. Did Jiyeon attempt to discuss her dragon plans to her brother. What would happen now they were clearly at odds with each other. Jinwoo’s promise to Jiyeon lingered in his mind, hoping she didn’t use that against him someday. He walks over to him and holds Myungjun’s hand.

 

“Hey,” he uses his finger to push Myungjun’s face so he’s looking at him. “You shouldn’t worry about that right now,”

 

“It’s just….” Myungjun sighed. “She knows how to get on my nerves. Every time she comes parading in here, calling me little bird,”

 

“Where did that name come from?” Jinwoo asked. He knew where it came from. The letter was now hidden away in his room. He made a mental note to make sure he kept it closer at hand.  

 

“Our.. mother,” Myungjun said. “It was her name for him, before I was born, every day bluebirds would sing by her window, until the day I was born. They stopped coming. My nursing maid told me she believed their voices came to me,”

 

“Well, it would explain why you have such a sweet voice,” Jinwoo said, without realising how cheesy it was. He groaned, as Myungjun laughed at him.

 

“Wow, I’ve never heard that one before,” Myungjun giggled, his hands wrap around Jinwoo’s waist, and he pulls him forward.

 

“Uhh, Myungjun,” Jinwoo looked to the door.

 

“Relax, I told them not to let anyone except Moon Bin in from now on, unless they have a scheduled visit,” Myungjun said. His left shoulder rose in a shrug. He lowered his voice. “And it’s not like anything he’s seen will come to a surprise,”

 

A heartbeat second later, Myungjun leans forward and kissed Jinwoo. It’s slow, both of them drawing long breaths as they moved together. Jinwoo’s heart pounded in a way that scared him. He ran his fingers up the back of Myungjun’s neck before he met the soft touch of his hair. It became intense quickly, as Myungjun quickened his pace. When they moved apart, Jinwoo was breathless, their forward touching again. He couldn’t look him in the eye, the intensity of his eyes was too much.

 

“We shouldn’t,” Jinwoo said. “Someone could come in demanding they see the future King for something,”

 

“I’m not ashamed of you, if that’s what you’re thinking, Jinwoo,” Myungjun said, as if he read his mind. “I don’t care if everyone knew about us,”

 

“You’re to be crowned King in less than a week,” Jinwoo said.

 

“Well, maybe for tonight, we can forget that,” Myungjun said, smiling.

 

Jinwoo’s about to make another comment on how they can’t ignore that, but he opts instead for another desperate kiss, despite his better judgement. Myungjun moaned into his mouth, and Jinwoo’s knees began to shake when they pressed themselves against each other. They held onto each other, stumbling almost, but found their balance.

 

Jinwoo’s anxiety nags at him. He should be focused on who wants to bring Myungjun down. He should be focused on the fact that dragons are very much real. And that in a week’s time, he’d be the right-hand man and lover to the King of the Fae. A whole lot can happen in a week, but right now, all he can think of is him and Myungjun. Together. And for now, that was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> coronation will most likely be the next chapter and that's when the shit hits the fan. I gave a little indulgent mjin ending to this chapter bc oh boy the next few chapters are going to be WILD. 
> 
> twitter: zarohawrites


	22. coronation pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the coronation takes a dark turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UNEDITED AND PROBABLY A SHIT TON OF MISTAKES. 
> 
>  
> 
> But this chapter was the first thing I ever drafted for this fic and I'm so damn happy that I've finally reached this point. There's still a lot to go tho...

“Again,” Dongmin said, as he managed to shove Jinwoo outside of the sparring circle for the umpteenth time.

 

“Listen, I get we had our differences in our past,” Jinwoo gasped. “But I’m starting to get the feeling you’re enjoying beating my ass,”

 

“You’re only getting it _now_?” Dongmin smirked, retrieving Jinwoo’s sword, and throwing it back at him. “Up,”

 

“Please,” Jinwoo began to dramatically breath heavily, he’s still lying down on the floor. “Let the human breathe,”

 

“You’re the one who woke me up, begging to learn combat,” Dongmin said.

 

“I know, I know,” Jinwoo said. “But coronation is tonight, and I don’t want another repeat of what happened at the tourney,”

 

“Fine,” Dongmin said, walking off to the side and sat down. “Ten-minute break,”

 

“I think that’s the kindest thing you’ve ever said,” Jinwoo got up, retrieving a glass of water from the jug that was set aside for them. They had been fighting for hours, while the rest of the court slept. At their first session, Dongmin had dragged a trainee in at one point to demonstrate while Jinwoo watched. Jinwoo had him sent away quite quickly as Dongmin quickly bested him. Dongmin managed to nick the boy a couple of times, at one point, a scratch went deep enough to draw blood. Jinwoo put a stop to it and helped the boy clean. Jinwoo had rarely seen faerie blood, except for the time at the tourney, it was different to human. Humans bled red, while faeries bled a lighter coloured fluid, which was always at a constant thickness. Nonetheless, Jinwoo hated seeing it, so he made Dongmin demonstrate on him.

 

They’ve both placed themselves on either end of the room. They both go quiet again, and Jinwoo tries to bring up Jiyeon.

 

“Has she said anything else?” Jinwoo asked.

 

“No,” Dongmin shook his head. “After the announcement, she’s been holed up in her room, not letting anyone in,”

 

“She seemed pretty pissed when she left his room that night,” Jinwoo said. “I don’t understand how she’ll go about with her plan if Myungjun won’t even look at her,”

 

“She’ll figure something out” Dongmin said.

 

Haknyeon enters the room, and Jinwoo feels a sigh of relief. He hadn’t seen the boy in a while.

 

“Good morning, you weirdos,” Haknyeon said. “Breakfast is served, and I’d like some company,”

 

“Already?” Dongmin said. “I guess we’ll end this here then,”

 

“Are you sure—” Jinwoo started.

 

“Listen, Jinwoo, you won’t learn everything I know in a week, or even a month,” Dongmin said. “And just because Myungjun will be King, that doesn’t mean me, or Moon Bin won’t help you afterwards,”

 

“I guess,” Jinwoo said sheepishly.

 

“I’ll see you tonight then,” Dongmin said. “I hope you’re both dressed at least a bit decent,”

 

Dongmin leaves, and Haknyeon is bouncing around the room, checking out the weapons and equipment that were left all over.

 

“Cool, maybe, you can teach me some skills, someday, Jinwoo,” Haknyeon laughed, as he poked Jinwoo with his foot.

 

“Someday,” Jinwoo said, as he got up. He was no where near skilled enough to fight on his own, let alone teach someone else. But he didn’t want to teach Haknyeon to fight, the same way he wouldn’t have wanted Minhyuk or Sanha to ever pick up a sword. To a take a life was damaging, and harming anyone so violently was against everything Jinwoo believed in.

 

“Haknyeon, can I ask you something?” Jinwoo asked, as the two walked together to the kitchen.

 

“Sure,”

 

“Don’t you ever get scared? Working in the courts?” Jinwoo asked.

 

Haknyeon stopped walking. “Why would I be scared? I’m a runner. All I do is send messages.”

 

“Sure, but these people aren’t kind,” Jinwoo said. “Haven’t you ever been in charge of sending a bad message?”

 

“You’d be surprised at how selfish the fae are,” Haknyeon said. “I’d consider everything they say is bad,”

 

The halls are alive. Everyone’s awake now, readying everything for the coronation. Myungjun’s room had become a hub of activity in the last few days, and while he preferred Jinwoo to be at his side for most of the time, Jinwoo found the attention quite unbearable. So, he found himself running all over alongside Haknyeon, helping when he can. The only time they were alone was at night, and Myungjun insisted they shared the bed. Their nights were soft and warm, but Jinwoo barely slept a couple of hours, before he rose to practise with Dongmin, and then continue on with helping everyone until he found himself back in Myungjun’s room. If it upset Myungjun, he didn’t say anything. Most of the time, he was either locked away in war meetings or spending time with his father.

 

The kitchen is so packed, Jinwoo and Haknyeon opt to taking their plates to Jinwoo’s room. More space than his, according to Haknyeon, he shared a box room with two other runners. Jinwoo’s room was cleared out, everything sent to Myungjun’s Court halls. So they both sat down at the empty bed.

 

“Maybe, I can get Myungjun to let you have mine,” Jinwoo said.

 

“Wait, then, where’s your new room—OH,” Haknyeon laughed as bit into a bread roll.  “I almost forgot you’re shacking up with the future King,”

 

“Haknyeon!” Jinwoo gasped, but then joined in with Haknyeon’s boisterous laughter. “Not so loud,”

 

“Okay, then,” Haknyeon lowered his voice to a near whisper. “ _How’s this_?”

 

“Insufferable,” Jinwoo laughed. “I think you’ve spent a little too much time with Sanha,”

 

“They’re coming right?” Haknyeon said. “Sanha and your father?”

 

Jinwoo nodded. “Myungjun send their invites first, he insisted,”

 

“It’s happening, isn’t it,” Haknyeon said. “We’ll really have a new King,”

 

“It’s rather exciting, isn’t it?” Jinwoo said, biting back the fear hid inside him. He was still had no idea if there was a potential threat to Myungjun for tonight. Moon Bin said he had it covered, but the more Jinwoo thought about it, the more he worried. Everyone was a threat. Jiyeon and her dragon ideas, Seokmin and his search to bring down Myungjun’s plans, and King Hongbin, despite being too sick to be a threat, Jinwoo still saw him as a threat.

 

“Well,” Haknyeon said, finishing the last of his breakfast. “We’d better get started then?”

 

The day flew by, and Jinwoo is shocked at quickly night fell, as he began to change into his outfit. A maroon doublet and white pants. The servants even give him jewellery to wear; rings, bracelet and hair clips. Jinwoo turned them down at first.

“For goodness’s sake, I told you to look nice,” Dongmin said, as he entered the room. Jinwoo’s jaw dropped. Dongmin was the epitome of fae beauty. The natural kind too, nothing that required magic to make better because, as much as Jinwoo would hate to say it publicly, Dongmin was better. He was stunning, wearing a similar colour to him, but his clothes fit him in a way that made Jinwoo feel like a child in his own clothes. There’s even glitter in his hair, a silver hairpiece, intertwined with his thick, luscious hair.

 

“Shouldn’t you be busy... I don’t know, doing something else?” Jinwoo said. “Surely, we should all be at Myungjun’s side,”

 

“Moon Bin’s already with him,” Dongmin said. “I was sent to make sure you’re looking decent too,”

 

“Oh, thanks,” Jinwoo rolled his eyes.

 

“Maybe some glitter in your hair would do you some good,”

 

“I’m sorry I’m not born fae,” Jinwoo said. “Us humans have to keep up with what you’re naturally given,”

 

“I get you’re stressed, Jinwoo,” Dongmin said. “Security is at its highest tonight, and we’ll be called forth to present our oath to Myungjun as his founding court members, until then, Moon Bin will be at his side, and we’ll be expected to enjoy ourselves until the midnight bell and the ceremony begins,”

 

Haknyeon comes stumbling in, all made up and looking quite adorable. Someone had highlighted his cheeks with a bright pink blush, there was glitter on the corners of his eyes.

 

“Let the party begin!” Haknyeon laughed, sweeping Jinwoo into his arms and began to pull him away. Jinwoo allows himself this freedom to drop his guard and enjoy the fun with Haknyeon. A crowning ceremony technically lasts for days, he could allow himself these hours before Myungjun is King.

 

Music floods the entire Kingdom. The pull is impossible to resist. Jinwoo and Haknyeon clasp hands and join the circle. The song burns in Jinwoo’s veins, and for once, he lets everything go. He even finds Sanha at one point, and drags him over, much to brother’s dismay. There’s no sight of Minhyuk, probably pinned to Jiyeon’s side.

 

Bells begin to ring around the halls, signalling everyone to begin making their seat. Jinwoo felt the energy that resided in him while dancing slowly fizz away.

 

It was time.

 

Dongmin finds him again. And leads him over to the dial where Myungjun would be sworn in once he made his entrance. King Hongbin is sitting on the main throne, and Jinwoo feels his stomach jumped. He hadn’t seen in so long. He shouldn’t scare him this much, since his son was literally about to take his spot. But he couldn’t help but feel frozen.

 

“Don’t be so scared, boy,” Hongbin said, when Dongmin departed to take his place on the other side of the throne, further away and out of earshot of the two. “I must truly be losing my skill, if I couldn’t even threaten a human boy to succumb to my words,”

 

“I tried to,” Jinwoo stammered. “I tried to leave,”

 

“I know, the court is all too alluring to give up.” Hongbin said. “But, it can be… dangerous,”

 

Jinwoo looked at the King’s blank face. What was he insinuating?

 

“You probably know all too well how dangerous this place is, Jinwoo,” Hongbin said. “I just hope my son will make the best choices possible,”

 

The crowd begins to quiet down, and Hongbin looked to Jinwoo once more.

 

“Make the right choice, Jinwoo,”

 

Before Jinwoo could ask anything else, the ceremony begins. Myungjun’s entrance is swift, he enters alone, Moon Bin close by, shrouded in a magic glow that lit up his entire body. He was crownless, but not for long, his hair smooth, his face, clear and shining. Jinwoo catches his eyes and doesn’t stop staring. Once Myungjun is standing by his father, Moon Bin takes his place next to Jinwoo.

 

 Hongbin stands before the people of the Fae.

 

“Good evening, all. I hope the entertainment has been pleasant so far, it will be going on well into the month,” He smiled to his people, as they cheered. Jinwoo has never upfront witnesses a King’s speech. He was shocked by the power of his voice. “Tonight is historical, one to be remembered for the ages. Tonight, I will step down as your King,”

 

There’s a tinge of sadness from the people in the crowd, but they kept their spirits high. Jinwoo could see his father, Sanha and Haknyeon. Their heads are down in respect.

 

“Fear not, there will be another,” Hongbin said. “I couldn’t possibly think of a better son for the role,”

 

Jinwoo looks to the side where he sees three prominent figures, surrounded by their own staff, it must be Myungjun’s other siblings, who came back home to see their father trash talk them and make their baby brother the king. None of them look mad, though. They clap for their father, smiling deeply, but even Jinwoo could sense an energy that this exactly isn’t their favourite place right now.

 

“My fifth-born child,” Hongbin said. “Kim Myungjun, come forth,”

 

Myungjun rises from his spot, removing the cloak he wore, revealing a rather intricate suit, it was detailed and gorgeous, the light catching pieces of the silver woven into the material. Moon Bin nudges Jinwoo to take the cloak. Jinwoo reaches forward and removes it from Myungjun’s hand. His hands are shaking, but under the cloak, Myungjun manages to give it a little squeeze.

 

“I, Kim Hongbin, have decided to step down as King of the Fae,” Hongbin said. “Will you accept the burden and power of the crown?”

 

“I, Kim Myungjun, will accept the power of the crown,” Myungjun said, his voice unwavering, confident, he’s probably practised his few words so many times over the years for this very day.

 

Hongbin wears an expression of pride, but still his smile withers. “Come, kneel before me,”

 

Myungjun bends down in front of his father, back to the crowd. Hongbin removes the crown from his head, and places it on Myungjun. There’s a wind rush that silences the room. Hongbin looks at his son.

 

“Now, come forth, and greet the Children of the Night, as their anointed King,”

 

Jinwoo’s gaze goes to the crowd. Everyone’s silent, as if they’re holding their breath, their eyes fixated on Myungjun. So, none of them notice the movements behind him. Jinwoo turns to Moon Bin, who are also realised it as well. Moon Bin frowned and looked around for Dongmin.

 

He wasn’t there.

 

And now that Jinwoo thought about it, he couldn’t see Jiyeon alongside the other members of the court, in fact, her colours, light blue and silver, was obviously absent from the others. Jinwoo scanned the crowd for Minhyuk. No sight of him.

 

Jinwoo can see that Moon Bin wants to move, but he can’t, not without making it obvious that something has gone off plan and Jinwoo couldn’t tell what it was.

 

As if by magic, all the candles are extinguished, leaving everyone in the dark. Someone screams, which causes a monopoly of screams. Before Jinwoo even has a plan, he runs over to Myungjun, grabbing him and pull him away.  

 

“What’s happening?” Myungjun asked.

 

“Keep your head down,” Moon Bin said, reuniting to their side.

 

“Myungjun!” Hongbin gasped. In the dark, Jinwoo can see his outline hobble to the throne behind him. Jinwoo feels a splash of something, maybe water land on him. Hongbin’s cry echoed the room, causing everyone else to calm down. Slowly, the knights relight the candles, but Myungjun is the first to scream as light floods the room again.

 

Hongbin had fallen backward, but it wasn’t because of the shock or his illness. In the darkness, someone has pierced a blade well deep into his throat. It seems unreal to Jinwoo, but then blood pours out, rivers of it gushing onto Hongbin’s outfit. It feels like years, but it all happened in a second, the old King withered away in front of them, his final breath was harsh and painful.

 

The Old King is dead.

 

_“Make the right choice, Jinwoo,”_

 

Did he know this would happen? Jinwoo shook the thought away from him. No. He couldn’t possibly plan his own death. Plan mayhem in his own kingdom. But the lack of Jiyeon’s presence was worrying. He felt a rush of anger at Dongmin’s disappearance. If Hongbin could be killed so publicly, who knows what else could be done.

 

Panic rushed through Jinwoo’s mind. He hadn’t felt this scared since the day we came to the Fae. How those moments where he thought he was close to drowning was going to be his last. Except Siwoo saved him that day.

 

But there was no one to save Jinwoo this time. He grabbed Myungjun’s hand, and looked to Moon Bin, his sword already out and his shield up, defending them all.

 

“We need to leave. _Now_.”

 

He had to make a choice. He just prayed it was the right one.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *RUNS AWAYY*
> 
> twitter: zarohawrites


	23. coronation pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> danger continues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost 3k of WILDNESS.

There’s blood on Jinwoo’s clothes, speckles of Hongbin’s blood that managed to land on him. It didn’t bother Jinwoo, but Myungjun….

 

He was drenched in it. The thick, light-coloured liquid was splattered all over him. Jinwoo remembered the first time he saw faerie blood. Sanha had tripped over a stool and scraped his knee. It didn’t even register as blood in his mind until Minhyuk told him.

 

Myungjun had stumbled over his father’s feet at Moon Bin led the two around the throne. There was a hidden door, meant for servants and staff who required discretion. Jinwoo practically pushes Myungjun through as Moon Bin guarded their backs. The mayhem in the hall was grown wilder. Every court for themselves as the Royal Guard even turns on the people. Jinwoo blocks out the cries, some which are cut short with the slash of a knife.

 

“Why..” Myungjun gasped, turning around to peer through the door. “Why are they turning on the people?”

 

“Don’t you dare look back now,” Jinwoo said. He knew if Myungjun saw the bloodshed that was going on in the hall, he’d lose it. And Jinwoo couldn’t have that now.

 

“They have to listen to me—”

 

“Something tells me they’re not loyal to you, Myungjun,” Moon Bin shoves a broom against the door they had just exited. “Consider everyone here a threat,”

 

“How can this happen?” Myungjun said. “ _Who_ —”

 

“Jiyeon wasn’t there,” Jinwoo said. “None of her men were,”

 

“No,” Myungjun shook his head. “We’ve had our differences, but she wouldn’t…. _she couldn’t_ ,”

 

“We have to leave the courts now,” Jinwoo said. They turned a sharp corner.

 

“Where can we go?” Moon Bin said. “If Jiyeon’s responsible for this, she’ll have people looking for Myungjun,”

 

“If we can escape now, before any barriers get put up, we can get to my family’s farm,” Jinwoo said, but then his family dawned in his mind. “They were still in there!”

 

Jinwoo feels sick to his stomach. He had left his family in the middle of the bloodshed.

 

“I’ll go back for them,” Moon Bin said. “Maybe—”

“Jinwoo!”

 

Haknyeon came skidding down the hall, two cloaked figures came stumbling behind him. Their hoods fall to reveal Siwoo and Sanha.

 

“Oh my god,” Jinwoo said, his voice trembling as he engulfed his brother into a hug. “I’m sorry, I’m so fucking sorry,”

 

“Don’t be,” Siwoo said. “The fighting was mainly happening amongst the Upper Court members. The Royal Guard didn’t attack the citizens,”

 

“Haknyeon got us out the door before it was shut closed,” Sanha said.

 

Jinwoo knew he wouldn’t be able to repay Haknyeon enough for this, it would take another ten lifetimes to make it up to him.

 

“So, what’s the plan?” Haknyeon said. “Because they’re sending everyone home and doing a full count,”

 

“We need to get Myungjun out of here,” Jinwoo turned to his family. “I hate to ask you of this, but we need to hide out in the farm. It will take ages for the search to reach there, and by then we’ll be long gone,”

 

“Of course,” Siwoo nodded, removing his cloak. “Sanha, take yours off too, and give it to them,”

 

“But, where will you go from there?” Sanha asked, taking his cloak and passing it to Moon Bin. “It’s just the end of the Faerie Vale,”

 

“I have an idea,” Jinwoo said. “But we need to leave the courts now,”

 

There’s the familiar sound of feet echoing through the halls. Jinwoo catches the shadows as they move towards their location.

 

“Here,” Myungjun said. They’re all standing in front a large ceiling high painting of Myungjun’s family, all siblings and parents included. Jinwoo watches Myungjun as he places his hand at the border of the painting, his eyes ignoring the family portrait. Sanha gasps lightly as the painting shimmers in the darkened hall. Even Moon Bin is shocked.

 

“Everyone, get in,” Jinwoo said. Jinwoo helps Myungjun into the painting as he struggles with his cloak, then Sanha, Siwoo, until it’s just Jinwoo and Moon Bin alone.

 

“I didn’t even know that,” Moon Bin said. “And I’m his Head of Guard,”

“Royal secret,” Jinwoo said. “But there’s a chance of Jiyeon knowing we’ll use this, so we have to be fast,”

 

They climb into the painting together, and it seals itself just as a group of soldiers round the corner. Jinwoo urges the others to go ahead, while he listens in.

 

“Remember, find the brother and the boy, alive,” the leader of the pack sneered. “Anyone else is free to all,”

 

“Don’t be so trigger-happy, boys,” a voice said. Jinwoo’s heart is hammering. He hears the sound of a sword falling to the ground. Jinwoo whirled to see Moon Bin behind him. He’s ready to chastise him for not walking ahead like he told them too.

 

“Is that Dongmin?” Moon Bin croaked, his voice barely a whisper.

 

Jinwoo peered through the picture, watching the crowd of men, part as Dongmin entered up in the centre of them all. He should feel angry, but instead a wave of pity as he looked at Moon Bin who wore his devastation on his face.

 

“Jiyeon commands no one else must die,” Dongmin said to the men.

 

“What he means is that Dongmin doesn’t want his boy-toy injured either,” Another voice cackled. His laugh is ended with a swift hit.

 

“Find them all alive,” Dongmin said, and walked off. The crowd disperses.

 

Sanha comes running back. “The delivery entrance is still quiet! Our horses are still here we can— what’s wrong?”

 

Moon Bin shook his head, wiping his face, there was no tears, but it was as if he wanted to wipe the shock away.

 

“Let’s get out of here, now,” Moon Bin pushed forward, and Jinwoo followed quietly behind him.

 

They’re all waiting for them. Myungjun looks at the two.

 

“What happened?” Myungjun asked.

 

“It was Jiyeon,” Moon Bin said. “She orchestrated this all, the men are working under her orders,”

 

No one says anything after that. They had their confirmation, now it was time to escape.

 

“Here, you three, hide in the back, press yourself under the bags,” Siwoo said. “Haknyeon and Sanha, pull the tarp over them, and sit with me in the front,”

 

Myungjun goes in first, pressing himself against the carts of fruit and vegetables. They must’ve made a delivery before they joined the celebrations. All that’s left in the carriage is empty vegetable bags, and rotting leftover fruit that had fallen out. Jinwoo feels the urge to apologise. Growing up royal probably meant they never seen the spoils of food, the smell of bad food. If they were disgusted by it, they didn’t show it. Moon Bin does his best to use his sleeve as he’s about to enter, when the door to the delivery hall opens.

 

“Dongmin,” Moon Bin said, he lets his hand fall from his nose.

 

Dongmin is alone, no guard, and no solder behind him. He has a satchel at his side. Everyone’s frozen in their spot, except for Myungjun who crawls out.

 

“Dongmin, you’re here,” Myungjun sighed with relief. “It isn’t safe,”

 

“I know—"

 

Dongmin doesn’t get to finish his sentence, because Moon Bin marches right up to him and punches him straight in the jaw. Jinwoo has to stop Myungjun from climbing out to stop him.

 

“Moon Bin!” Myungjun gasped.

 

“You fucking traitor,” Moon Bin said. Jinwoo and the others can only his back, but the way it rises and fall it’s clear that Moon Bin was on the verge of tears. “How could you let this happen?”

 

“I’m didn’t know she’d try to kill him,” Dongmin said, he’s still on the floor, holding his jaw. A clear bruise began to emerge. Blood fell from his mouth.

 

“Dongmin…” Myungjun’s voice quivered. “You helped her…”

 

“I’m so sorry,” Dongmin said, looking over at Myungjun.  “She told me she wanted the dragons, never the Crown,”

 

Myungjun looks dumbfounded, his face turned red as everyone looked at him.

 

“Dragons?” Moon Bin said, his face burning red. “You risked everyone’s life for a fairytale!”

 

“Don’t be mad at him,” Jinwoo said. “He couldn’t have possibly known she’d do all this!”

 

Everyone stares at Jinwoo. Moon Bin looks conflicted. He’s not sure where his anger should be directed. Instead, he turns to Dongmin.

 

“You all need to get out of here. Take this satchel,” Dongmin said. “Lockdown starts in five, I’ve redirected all the attention to the front gate,”

 

There’s a moment of silence where every has no idea what to do. Moon Bin is seething, Myungjun goes quiet while the rest of them watch the mess unfold. Moon Bin makes the first move, grabs the satchel, and walked back to Jinwoo.

 

“Binnie,” Dongmin said, his voice muffled, his hand still on his jaw. “Let me explain one day,”

 

“Don’t,” Moon Bin said, turning to look at Dongmin once more. “You’re fucking dead to me,” 

 

The way Dongmin’s face crumped makes Jinwoo’s heart ache. Even Myungjun looks away, tucking himself back into the carriage, behind a cart of tomatoes. Jinwoo’s family and Haknyeon have gone silent. Siwoo urges the horses into motion, as Moon Bin covers the tarp over them, and then the only thing they have hear is horse hooves over the cobbled stone.

 

**

They ride back in remarkable silence. Moon Bin constantly peers through the tarp, checking in case someone – maybe Dongmin – followed them. Myungjun sits in stunned silence. His hands shaking, so Jinwoo reaches over and holds them. They’re cold, his father’s blood has dried completely, looking more like dried glue on his hands.

 

“How did she know?” Myungjun whispered. “How did she know all this for so long? My father didn’t even learn about the dragons until last month,”

 

“She’s smart,” Moon Bin scoffed. “Your father paid little attention to her, so that gave her all the time in the world to plan to murder him and you,”

 

Moon Bin gives a frustrated sigh. “But Dongmin…”

 

“I don’t even think even he thought she was capable of this,” Jinwoo whispered.

 

“How can you be sure?” Moon Bin said, he peers at Jinwoo. Jinwoo looked down. “Jinwoo…”

 

Myungjun lets his hand fall. “Jinwoo, what do _you_ know?”

 

Jinwoo takes a deep breath. He recounts his meeting with Jiyeon. Dongmin saving him from an orc attacker, and bringing him to her room, offering a part in her plan to control dragons.

 

“But none of it involved killing the King,” Jinwoo said. “I swear to you, Moon Bin,”

 

“I asked you to join the Court of Shadows because I’d thought you’d respect the rules,” Moon Bin said. “But even you lied as well,”

 

“Wait, what?” Myungjun said. It’s the first words he’s said in a while. He stared at Jinwoo. “I knew Binnie and Dongmin were in it but you’re a part of my Shadow court?”

 

“I guess we’ve all been lying to each other,” Moon Bin sighed. “But that stops today,”

 

“Yes,” Jinwoo nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell anyone of you about Jiyeon, and we can discuss how horrible we all are, at a later time, but we need to do something about Jiyeon,”

 

“Well, what can she do?” Myungjun said. He jerks forward when they go over a bump. Sanha whispered a sorry from their front seat.

 

“Well, she can make her claim for the throne, and judging from the way she got the guards to slaughter all the Upper courts members, there’s no one except for Myungjun who can counteract it.”

 

“Once she’s got the control of the Courts, she’ll begin her expedition to the dragons,” Myungjun said. “She still needs the riders,”

 

“She claimed your father would never agree to work alongside the Orcs and Goblins,” Jinwoo said. “That’s why she worked undercover,”

 

“Well, she wasn’t wrong about that,” Myungjun said, drawing a sharp breath and then lets it out slowly. “My father didn’t want to share the dragon’s power with them. It upset the representatives quite a lot.

 

“Makes sense why she’d kill the king,” Moon Bin said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the Goblins and Elves were involved with this,”

 

“But why Myungjun?” Jinwoo asked. “Surely, you’d have changed your mind,”

 

“That was my plan,” Myungjun said. “I didn’t tell him, but I was going to work with them to bring peace and banish the orcs,”

 

“Logically, if she had both of you killed at the coronation, blamed it on the orcs, that would be a powerful rally to the Fae people.” Moon Bin said. “She’d get the crown and the sympathy,”

 

“But we can’t let her have the throne,” Myungjun said. “I need to contest her place,”

 

“Let’s get back to my home, first,” Jinwoo said. “We can’t think straight in this cramped space,”

 

They arrived at Siwoo’s farm in silence. The others in the front hadn’t heard anything the trio has discussed in the back.

 

“What’s the plan?” Haknyeon asked.

 

“Tonight, we rest,” Siwoo said. He ignored any argument that Jinwoo and Moon Bin put up. Siwoo raises his hand. “Listen, we have been through it all today, no war was ended in a day, and you all need to sleep, look at yourselves,”

 

Jinwoo looked around. Moon Bin and Myungjun’s gaunt face, their hairs a raggedy mess, their clothes covered in dust and blood. He knew he looked even worse.

 

“Jinwoo, take them to the farmhouse, it’s the furthest spot away from here,” Siwoo said. “If anyone arrives, we’ll let the chickens loose to warn you,”

 

Jinwoo almost laughed. The chickens were loud and loved to be set free at any given moment. It was his natural alarm, growing up.

 

The three split off and enter the farm house. Jinwoo climbs up to the top and begins to clear space for them to sleep. Haknyeon and Sanha dropped by with fresh clothes and warm water. Moon Bin stood up and declares he’ll take first watch, even though they didn’t need one.

 

He silently walks out, leaving Myungjun and Jinwoo alone. Myungjun removes his clothes first changing into the clean white shirt and brown pants. He looked like a farm hand, the way Jinwoo looked growing up. If it hadn’t been for the crown, still on his head, he would thought so. Myungjun must’ve realised that too, he removes the crown and throws it away. It lands in a pile of hay.

 

And then he starts crying.

 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Jinwoo said, he marches straight over to him, and holds his face in his hands, wiping his tears away with his thumb. “It’s okay,”

 

“You know, all my life, I never wanted the throne,” Myungjun wept. “I hated my father for making me his successor, but I couldn’t do anything about it. It was either me or let Jiyeon’s cold heart rule,”

 

“Maybe if I had just let her have the throne, this wouldn’t have happened,” Myungjun said. “If I took a moment to listen to her,”

 

“It doesn’t matter. She seems hell-bent on having you killed either way,” Jinwoo said. “I don’t think she had any intention to share.”

Moon Bin comes rushing back in, the satchel he had snatched from Dongmin opened up in his hand.

 

“Look,” he said, toppling the contents from the bag. Jinwoo recognises Seokmin’s papers, the ones he had hidden away, the ones about Myungjun’s mother.

 

“What is this stuff?” Myungjun said.

 

“It’s what we – your shadow court – was working on” Moon Bin said, looking rather apologetic. “I was so stupid, thinking Seokmin was involved in all this when it was Jiyeon this entire time,”

 

Jinwoo recognises the letter Myungjun’s mother wrote.

 

“How did that get in there?” Jinwoo asked. “That was with my things,”

 

Jinwoo picked up the letter, there’s another note on top of the Queen’s original note.

 

_This won’t fix everything, but I hope it’s a start. – DM._

 

Myungjun grabbed the letter, removing Dongmin’s note. His eyes settled on his nickname.

 

“This is from my mother?” Myungjun said. “And I’m only finding this now!?”

 

“Seokmin hid it from you, I had Jinwoo take it from his courts,” Moon Bin said. “We think he might have something to do with your mother passing away. We couldn’t decide when to give it to you without alerting you of the danger,”

 

“Well, how about we start by not treating me like a fragile doll?” Myungjun said, rather irritated. “I get to know everything you two know, starting from now.”

 

Myungjun held the letter firmly. Jinwoo notices the glue that held it together slowly melted away, allowing the paper to unfold. The ink must only be visible to Myungjun too because the paper is plain to Jinwoo’s eyes. Myungjun’s eyes scan the paper, and his eyes widen so high that it’s almost comical.

 

“Oh god,” Myungjun gasped. “That’s why…”

 

“Why what?” Moon Bin said. “What—”

 

Moon Bin is cut off, the sound of chicken being freed into the field flood the barn. One chicken even manages to make its way into the barn at full speed. They all run to the barn window, and peer out.

 

Soldiers were outside the main house, many soldiers, all dressed up in battle armour. There’s a royal carriage making its way into the plot. Jinwoo catches a shadow leave the house, and sneak its away over to the barn. Moon Bin raises his sword carefully.

 

“She’s here,” Haknyeon whispered, appearing from the shadows. “Jiyeon is here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter: zarohawrites


End file.
